Over 200 Ghanaian students are currently enrolled at Ohio University. While staying true to their roots, they seek out fresh perspectives and diverse experiences with other university students.
“Ohio University is number one in the U.S. for students enrolled from Ghana, and we're very proud of that designation,” Gillian Ice, OU’s interim associate provost for Global Affairs, said.
There is a long history between OU and Ghana, with about 3,000 Ghanaian alumni representing the university. Last fall, about 230 Ghanaian students were enrolled at OU.
Zainab Abdulai, a graduate student studying African studies, is from the Northern Region of Ghana. At OU, she has chosen to focus her academic efforts on studying this region.
“Mostly all my research is centered on that part of Ghana because there's not much written about it,” Abdulai said. “As a graduate student, I thought I could use this opportunity to talk about it a little bit more.”
Abdulai was born and raised in Ghana, and coming to OU was her first experience living outside the West African country. At first, she was hesitant to apply to schools in the U.S., but after encouragement from a friend, Abdulai applied to OU’s master’s program.
“I wanted to have an experience of a whole new environment,” Abdulai said. “I could have pursued my masters in Ghana, and I would have been fine, but I needed a whole different perspective.”
Abdulai began her master's program in 2024 with a desire to interact with, hear and learn from the large variety of communities at OU. She accomplishes this in part by serving as president of the African Student Union.
“As somebody who is yearning to really understand society, it's better to get the perspective of diverse people from diverse backgrounds, and that was my major aim,” Abdulai said.
Abdulai has found Athens to be a low-pressure environment she has enjoyed getting to know.
“I don't like places where everything is so busy, everything is fast and moving,” Abdulai said. “Athens gives you the direct opposite of that. There are so many trees here, everything feels so natural. For me, Athens is just the ideal place for academic work.”
Crystal Asimenu, a Ph.D. student studying higher education and student affairs, received her first degree at the University of Ghana before pursuing her master's and doctorate at OU. She came to OU seeking a fresh perspective on education.
“I had always heard that the educational system abroad is different, precisely the U.S., that it was cross-cultural,” Asimenu said. “... I decided to give it a try.”
Last year, Asimenu earned a master’s degree in social work from OU. Now, she works as a graduate assistant at OU’s Multicultural Center. This job has been her favorite part of her time at OU.
“Getting to relate with different students from different backgrounds, I feel like I am learning a lot from meeting with other people,” Asimenu said.
Ghanaian students aren’t the only ones benefiting from their presence on campus, Ice said.
“Ghanaian students, and all of our students from other countries, help all of us on campus in terms of bringing their unique experiences and perspectives,” Ice said. “We as a university focus on preparing our students to solve humanity's problems … we can all learn from dialogue with our students from different parts of the world.”
Although both Abdulai and Asimenu sought out diverse perspectives by coming to OU, this hasn’t prevented both from seeking out OU’s Ghanaian and broader African communities.
“I already had a cousin over here in the school … she told me there was a big African community over here, which kind of gave me solace,” Abdulai said. “Because as much as I would like to go outside to study, it's also a very good thing to be in the company of people you find a lot of things in common with.”
Asimenu is a part of Generation P246, a religious community in Athens with a large African membership. The group is committed to “building relationships and seeking God together,” according to the organization’s website.
“The Ghanaian community is a very supportive one, we look out for each other,” Asimenu said. “We are there for each other … we support the new people that come in because we know that being away from home can be difficult, so it's a very supportive environment.”
