The Adom Mma spirit is all-time high as the OLAG community celebrates more successes in various fields. Building on the great performance in the West African Senior Schools Certificate Examination, where 98.1% of the 2023 graduates qualified for college admission, the school in the last year has witnessed phenomenal performances of her students in some regional and national competitions in diverse activities. The school has progressed from preliminaries, all through to the final stages in most athletic competitions, from soccer, basketball, and handball to cross country and track and field sports. Nonetheless, our accomplishments in academic-related competitions like the National Science and Math Quiz, the LuvFm-Pepsodent High School Debate and Robotics have been remarkable. To qualify among the eight best schools in a region that has over 130 Senior High Schools is no ordinary achievement, especially when one considers the fact that the entire school population merely sums up to 850 students, a number that does not even amount to one-third of the population in most other schools. This implies that in OLAG, students learn to master the art of multitasking. For instance, in the last regional athletic competitions, two OLAG final-year athletes, Alhaji Seidu and Patrick Agyemang, had to do 12 and 11 events respectively within two days.
For the first time, the school qualified for the semifinal stage at the regional level in the most prestigious National Science and Math Quiz competition, consequently gaining a slot to represent the region at the national level. In the LuvFM-Pepsodent High School Debate, OLAG placed second, losing narrowly to Kumasi High School. Likewise, in the national robotics competition organized by the Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation, OLAG presented three teams. OLAG’s team, Catalyst, placed first in the ROBOSPORTS category and therefore qualified to represent Ghana in the international robotics championship, which is to be held in Turkey later in November this year. The two other teams from OLAG placed second and third in the ROBOMISSION category.
The enthusiasm of school leadership is not mainly about winning competitions, but the exposure the students gain, the opportunities they get, the can-do character they exhibit, the team spirit they develop, and the general camaraderie that comes with such news. There is such a positive vibe from all angles, as it feels great to be an Adom Ba (Child of Grace) or to be part of this family.
OLAG is pleased to see that students continue to embody and live by its motto, Knowledge, Morality, Service. As a school started in faith and built on love through the generosity of our major donors, Warren and Mary Lynn Staley, and maintained through the kindness of the many people who contribute to the Rise and Shine Breakfast, there is the intentional plan to develop a heart of generosity within students and the ardent desire to pay it forward. In the past, some students had identified needy colleagues in their dorms and contributed to support them. About a year ago, some students from another high school visited OLAG for inter-school friendly games. Thoughtfully, some OLAG students, upon encountering a timid young student from the visiting school, discovered the story of her challenging life and immediately contributed some provisions and cash to be presented to her as a demonstration of their love and concern. Such gestures have been adopted as an annual practice for students here in OLAG: mobilizing cash, toiletries, clothing, and other supplies and visiting several orphanages to donate them and spend time serving the kids.
In this current term, Reina Seyena Abla Atsupi Denyo, a 16-year-old second-year student, undertook an initiative to mobilize funds from the student body and other sources to purchase educational materials in the form of math sets, long rulers, and pens for final-year students in six junior high schools in some deprived communities who were about to write their national exit examinations. Reina said she felt that not everyone was equally resourced, and as a student growing up, she saw many kids who came to school without some of the most basic learning and writing tools necessary for academic involvement. She therefore reached out to her younger colleagues in deprived areas who were troubled by the lack of such basic learning materials despite their promising academic potential. It is the hope of management that this spirit of generosity will continue to grow in the hearts of all students and make them agents of transformation in their societies now and in the future.
OLAG is equally pleased with the exploits of her past students in colleges, both at home and abroad. The feedback from some colleges has been great, and it is the hope and prayer of school management that OLAG alumni continue to shine not only in academic excellence but also in exemplary lifestyle, innovation, and concern for the advancement of the common good.
We are proud of the many past students who have been fortunate to be admitted to the wonderful universities across Ghana, some reading very competitive programmes like medicine, pharmacy, engineering, architecture, law and the like. It seems OLAG students have a special love for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where over 100 past students are currently undertaking their studies. The school is also grateful for the many partnerships it has developed with universities and colleges, both at home and abroad. A special mention can be made of the highly sought-after Ashesi University in Berekuso, Ghana. In the USA, OLAG is grateful to renowned schools like the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, the University of Mary in Bismark, North Dakota, and Kansas State University, which have directly granted admissions to OLAG graduates on scholarship. We cherish these friendships and would love to have them for good.
Moreover, honourable mentions should also be made about other universities like Pitzer College and Grambling State University, both in California; Salem College in North Carolina; Shawnee State University in Ohio; and the many universities in the USA where some OLAG students have been granted admission to study. We are profoundly grateful to them for building on the foundation laid here and training our students to accomplish their purpose in life.
As we bring this blissful academic year to an end, we look forward to better days ahead and pray that OLAG continues to be a beacon of hope for many young ones. May OLAG students continue to rise and shine!
