Accra: Mrs Baaba Coffie, the Acting Dean of Communication Studies at Wisconsin International University College (WIUC-Ghana), has urged students to apply lessons from Sir Sam Jonah's life stories to help shape their futures. Mrs Coffie made the remarks during a media interaction at a Fireside Chat organised by the school, where global mining executive Sir Samuel Esson Jonah engaged students on leadership, resilience, entrepreneurship, and his personal journey.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mrs Coffie emphasized the importance of seeking knowledge beyond academic settings while acknowledging the significance of classroom learning. She explained that since 2016, WIUC has hosted a series of seminars with various speakers to broaden students' perspectives, with Sir Jonah's story being chosen to inspire them. She posed a reflective question, "Aside from the classroom, what do we teach them?" to highlight the need for learning beyond traditional education.
Mrs Coffie further stated, "That is why we invited Sir Sam Jonah, so students can learn from his journey and be inspired to shape their own futures." She underscored the importance of the insights shared during the event, urging students to reflect on them and connect them to their aspirations. She expressed her belief that students would one day look back and recognize the impact of Sir Jonah's words, stating, "All that he said is important, and students must connect it to their aspirations. One day, you will look back and say you were impacted by Sir Jonah's words."
She challenged students to critically assess how the knowledge they had acquired could be applied to their personal goals. The event left a significant impact on attendees, with some students sharing their reflections. A Communication Studies student acknowledged the necessity of actively designing the future with honesty, respect, and resilience. Another participant, Ms. Angel Koomson, expressed her admiration for Sir Jonah's resilience and the lesson that failure is part of progress. She noted that his story demonstrated the importance of learning from mistakes and facing the future with courage, saying, "She learnt that sometimes failure could help in making progress, admiring how the great man failed many times but kept rising, facing the future with courage."