The INSPIRER Issue 8 | Page 18

/ BY RITA OFORI AMPONSAH Being offered a Business program after studying Science in High School was no hindrance to the success of this go-getter. Not only did she graduate successfully from her program with a CGPA of 3.98 out of 4.0, she was also selected as Valedictorian for Central University’s Graduating class of 2019. We caught up with Queendela to learn how she did this and what you can also learn from her. Tell us a bit about yourself and your academic journey so far My name is Queendela Adu-Poku. I am a 23- year-old who believes in God and hard work. I love reading a lot. Ithink it helps me know more about the world I live in and it is always a great way to escape and relax. I also love music and that is probably why I am a bass guitarist. And I really love Finance! I started school at Morning Glory Montessori School, moved to Corpus Christi for a year and settled at Fountainhead Christian School for the rest of my primary and junior high school education. I went to Ghana National College, Cape Coast where I studied General Science with electives Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Elective Maths. However, after high school, I decided to try something new by moving into business administration where I pursued Bsc. Banking and Finance at Central University. I think that sums it up about me. Why did you decide to switch your program from Science to Banking & Finance? I had heard a lot about Banking and Finance being a difficult course but after completing high school, I was considering potential courses to pursue. Some of the courses I juggled with in my mind were  Petroleum Engineering, Physics and Banking and Finance. As a Science student, Banking and Finance should not have made it on the list but as I mentioned earlier, I wanted to try something new I realized that the more I read about Finance, the more I enjoyed it. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I did not make the cut for the other programs and decided to stick with Banking and Finance for a year and reapply to those other ones. But I was genuinely interested in challenging myself in the first year and after that ended, I did not want to be anywhere else. What habits and attitudes did you think you had during the period of your degree that set you up for this success? From the beginning, I put everything into God’s hands but I kept it in mind that God was not going to help me if I did not put in the hard work. I scheduled my time in such a way that I was either studying, doing God’s work, participating in extracurricular activities or doing something with my friends. "I think the attitudes that helped me the most were discipline and focus." 17