Freda Agyeman is a Voltarian who grew up in Kissi in the Central Region. She started her basic school in Oxford Preparatory School and later stopped in class six due to financial difficulties. She later enrolled in Kissi M/A JHS where she joined the JHS 2 class and served as the chaplain prefect in the following year. After completing BECE in 2015, Freda got admitted to Secondi College, a school she eventually could not attend due to financial issues. She then took a gap year to help her mum in her petty trading business, after which she was admitted to Komenda Senior High Technical School during the second term to study Business Accounting. In the first semester of the second year, she was normally sacked from school for her inability to pay her fees. Fortunately for her, she later got on a J.S. Annan Memorial Fund scholarship which covered her fees.
Freda later went to stay with a family friend to continue her studies due to proximity to the school. Over there, she assisted with the family’s poultry farm business, going back home during school break times to scoop eggs from the pen. She later went back to her parents at Kissi. With her inability to secure help from others to cater for her transportation, she worked for a woman who decided to sponsor her transport expenses to school. Later, she was privileged to be accommodated by a teacher in a school Bangalow.
During high school, she was part of the tutoring, coaching, and counselling unit and assisted students in subjects like Mathematics. She served as the Day Girls Prefect and worked as an MC for a kids reality show called the Gifted Crafted Kids (GCK) show. She also joined a high school colleague to learn photography. She had a goal of exceptionally passing all her subjects regardless of the challenges. She uses the weekend to assist some of her teachers with their house chores like preparing meals, washing, and cleaning their houses. In her final year, she became the overall best student in the school and subsequently graduated in 2019 as the second best student with 5As.
Post high school, Freda’s attempts to get a job proved futile. She was later introduced to Mr. Scoon Boakye by Mr. Laud Asibon (Owner of Gifted Crafted Kids) for her to do a voice over for his business, Ayaprep, an app that teaches Mathematics in Ghanaian local dialects. In 2019, the owner of Gifted Crafted Kids later introduced her to an educational foundation called the Zawadi Africa Education Fund with the hopes of securing the scholarship with them. There, she met Miss Mimi Koranteng who has been instrumental in Freda’s pursuit for a scholarship to attend university. At Zawadi, Freda got to know about African Leadership University (ALU), where she applied for a scholarship. Later, Mr. Scoon introduced her to Ashesi University and paid the application fee for her to apply. She eventually got admitted to both schools with a fully-funded scholarships. Freda was also offered Admission to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to study B.Sc Economics. Later accepted Ashesi University’s offer to read a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
In September 2020, she started her educational journey at Ashesi University virtually due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Coming to Ashesi in person, Freda was excited to explore the opportunities Ashesi has to offer. The Ashesi environment gave her the room to develop her leadership skills, build upon her community engagement pursuits, and think deeply into issues going on around her to provide solutions to them.
At Ashesi, Freda has worked with the Ashesi Shop as a work study intern for about five semesters, the Ashesi Library, Ashesi D:Lab as a photography intern, and with the Research Department on the Berekuso Impact Survey project as an Enumerating Officer. She also interned at her high school during the 2021 summer as an Administrative Intern and Head Mistress Assistant. In her quest to give back to society, She also worked with Ghana Statistical Service as a National Census Enumeration Officer during the 2021 Population Census. She interned with Heel the World Global as a Business Development and Grant Writer in the summer 2022 and with Sorted Chale as a part-time Travel and Event Buddy in December 2022 and 2023.
In January 2022, Freda became an OSUN Global Fellow and served as the Global Engagement Fellows Lead at Ashesi University till her graduation. She was the co-lead for the OSUN Global Engagement Fellowship Editorial Board. She has also worked as the Ashesi Mastercard Foundation Scholars Electoral and Documentation Committee Chair in 2022. In 2023, she became the Head of the Ashesi Mastercard Foundation Scholars Outreach Committee, being at the forefront of fundraising for and planning of the famous “Huduma Day” community giveback outreach of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars at Ashesi University. She also volunteered for the 2022 Ashesi Career Fair and with the Ashesi ODIP as a photographer.
With her interest in developing a program for teenage mothers, Freda started the Photo4Her initiative to train teenage mothers in photography. She got funds from Ford Foundation and OSUN micro grants. Currently, she is looking for NGOs that are into women empowerment to partner with them to help train teenage mothers in photography. She is a professional photographer, a T-shirt designer, and an entrepreneur who deals in beddings and Popcorn.
In January 2023, Freda participated in the 2023 Student Leaders Retreat for the OSUN Global Fellows in Columbia. She also took a Summer School program at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.
Freda has consistently maintained first class throughout her studies at Ashesi University, graduating with a Cum Laude (a CGPA above 3.50/4.00). Freda currently works as a Research Assistant at the Ashesi Research Studio. She is also interning with RACE for Equity.
Freda is grateful to her parents for their unwavering support, Mr. Scoon Boakye who paid her Ashesi application fee, Mr. Lord Asibon, all her high school teachers that were instrumental in her life, and many others who played a crucial role in her journey till date.
She advises young women who are in the situation of having no one to assist them to keep on persisting and not give up on themselves and their education. She believes that by pursuing academic excellence, one will create opportunities for personal and professional growth, enabling them to succeed through their own efforts and the resources they attract.
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