Cornell welcomes African Leadership Academy students
Cornell College welcomed a new group of international students to campus this year from the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
According to ALA’s website, the academy “seeks to transform Africa by developing a powerful network of young leaders who will work together to address Africa’s greatest challenges, achieve extraordinary social impact, and accelerate the continent’s trajectory.”
It’s a program that takes two years and takes place at the end of a student’s high school career.
Three ALA leaders arrived on campus this semester as first-year students. They are Mahmoud Wael Attia Ali Elawady, Saad Makhal Mankarious, and Michael-Sean Ossai.
“These students are brilliant in the classroom but they are also movers and shakers in their communities,” said Cornell College Director of Strategic Enrollment Initiatives Marie Schofer, who works with international students. “They are the best and brightest, and ALA serves as a springboard to help them to get into elite institutions around the world so they are taking one more step toward really being change-makers.”
The relationship with ALA all started with a connection between Vice President for Enrollment Management Wendy Beckemeyer and ALA’s Deputy Dean for Enrollment Management Marylyn Scott, who you might remember watching during the Opening Convocation video this fall.
“Our partnership with ALA began when a dear friend and colleague, Marylyn Scott, joined the ALA team,” Beckemeyer said. “Her passion for providing access to high-achieving students was contagious. I am grateful for the mission alignment between Cornell College and ALA. We are excited to welcome our first ALA students and have high hopes for their educational aspirations at Cornell as well as their contributions to our community.”
Michael Sean Ossai, who hails from Nigeria, arrived on campus just in time for Block 2.
Ossai says Scott helped him discover Cornell, and he was interested in the Ingenuity curriculum and One Course At A Time. Plus, he liked the idea of forming close relationships with his professors and those around him on a small campus.
“I appreciate the fact that I look over my shoulder, and I have seen the person in my dorm, or we meet the same way in class, on the soccer field, or at the gym,” Ossai said. “It makes it easy for meaningful relationships to form. That’s something I’m really big on as a person–I believe the essence of life is to influence and be influenced by people to a large extent.”
Ossai says ALA is very selective and sets students up for their next phase in life. He’s already focused on what he needs to do during his time at Cornell to go back home and make a difference.
“I’m studying computer science,” Ossai said. “We know the future is technology. If Nigeria is to bloom into a global force making good use of the immense natural resources and manpower she has, we must ensure that her tech is booming. Then, my minor in business is important as well. Entrepreneurship to me is key. One of the big things ALA is known for is entrepreneurial leadership. The 21st-century African child needs to be educated to get out of school and think job creation, innovation, and solutions to problems first.
He says he’s confident he’ll get the skills at Cornell to go back home and make a difference, and he’s proud to represent ALA in the process.
“ALA has connections and networks all over the world. They are sending students to universities all over America to big massive ivys, to smaller but stronger schools that I identify Cornell with, to universities and colleges in the Middle East to the African Leadership University or Ashesi university in Ghana. It’s a big network, and I am just glad to be able to represent and do that network proud over here in Iowa.”
Beckemeyer says Cornell expects to continue its partnership with ALA and welcome students in the coming years.
