On December 15th, 2006 Ms. Yawa Osebreh became the first female President of the Ashesi Student Council (ASC), and the first lady president of a university student government in Ghana’s history. In her own words, “The role of the Ashesi Student Council is to instill the principles of scholarship, leadership and citizenship in all members of the Ashesi Community. We are a community of men and women with a passion to change Africa in our own small ways. The knowledge that we are the creator of our own worlds is our guiding principle.”
Yawa joined the Ashesi community because of its vision. Born and raised in a foreign land, Yawa describes herself before Ashesi as a “woman who was without a country.” “I lived with a void for many years knowing I came from a place worth remembering yet had just an idea of this mystery called “Africa.” Ashesi provided me with answers. Ashesi has given me an education that greatly challenged the assumptions I held as an African growing up in America. Today, I know exactly what I need to do to fill that void.”
During her secondary school years Yawa was the recipient of several awards for proficiency, sportsmanship and club management. At Ashesi, she has been on the Dean’s list and won a scholarship to study abroad in Rome. Yawa’s achievement as the first female President of a student government group affirms she is a trailblazer in student governance in Ghana.