Ghanaian accepted into prestigious social entrepreneurship programme in US
Harry M. Tsiagbe, a former student of Mawuli School in the Volta Region, has been accepted into and is currently participating in the Entrepreneurship for the Public Good (EPG) programme at Berea College in Kentucky, USA.
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Mr Tsiagbe, a rising junior, is one of 20 students selected this year as members of the 12th Cohort.
The EPG programme, which began in 2003, creates a multi-year social entrepreneurship experience and requires a two-summer commitment from all accepted applicants. Over the years, it has been adapted to meet changing social needs and to fit the evolving dynamics of the times.
Since its inception, the EPG programme has successfully churned out more than 150 fellows.
In the first summer, members of the cohort develop six core entrepreneurial leadership abilities namely “engaging complexity and uncertainty, exploring values and ethical structure, facilitating group decisions, recognising opportunity, mobilising resources, and advocating change.”
They develop these through various classroom lessons and direct experiences in Appalachian communities for 8 weeks. This prepares them for the second summer where they fully utilise these abilities for approximately 10 weeks in Directed Field Experiences designed to yield utmost benefits to each student. After the first summer, each member of the cohort is awarded a $3000 stipend and further support – advisory and financial - is provided for the second summer.
A highly elated MrTsiagbe could not hide his joy at the opportunity to participate in the programme.
“I am excited about this program because it affords me the opportunity to work with some of the brilliant minds on Berea’s Campus. Moreover, I am confident that by the end of it all, I would have learned highly relevant and transferable skills and be well-equipped to make positive contributions to the development of Ghana and to the people I get an opportunity to serve,” he said.
