Editor-In-Chief's Address

Initiatives, Activities & Achievements.

1. The journey began with the need to downsize the team of executives. This was due to the unwillingness of members to take up the positions. Most members were unsure how the six weeks-per-semester modular system would pan out. Others also lacked the requisite competencies to occupy the slots and felt that they had very little time to learn on the job to be effective leaders of the various committees. Therefore, most units were merged based on how related their functions were. The current units are Pathway Central & Academia; Pathway Social & Elite and Photography & Website Management. Also, there were two Assistant Editors-In-Chief, one for each modular, who assisted with coming up with initiatives and implementing them. An ad hoc committee was set up to see to the publication of a yearbook for the graduating class.

2. Also, there was the need to campaign in Level 200 and 300 class groups to get new members to join the society. The society has 25 members presently with 19 being continuing students.

3. My tenure saw the publication of 5 Pathway newsletters in total. The table below gives a breakdown of the publications which members of the society were expected to share on their various class pages.

(See Table 1 below)

4. One of the novel additions to the publications was Religious Reflections which were coordinated by the Pathway Social & Elite Unit. The Christian Reflections were prepared in collaboration with the Chaplaincy Board. These were shared on Sundays. The Islamic reflections were prepared by devout Muslim students in the department and shared on Fridays. In all, 7 reflections were shared in the form of WhatsApp communiqués. Below is the breakdown.

(See Table 2 below)

5. Editorial Society website was updated and included copies of the society's Pathway newsletters.

6. The BCMB 2021 Yearbook is currently being designed by the University of Ghana Printing Press and is expected to be completed in a few weeks time. A commitment fee of GHȼ 200.00 Gp has been paid. The Yearbook committee estimated a total cost of about GHȼ 500.00 Gp for only the designing. This is because the committee decided to undertake a soft copy only document following a survey conduted to solicit the preference of members of the class.

Outstanding Initiatives.

However, there were a few initiatives that were not executed. They were a Debate and an Essay competition and Editorial Webinars. I hope that the successive administration would carry it out successfully. The blueprints for these have been attached to this document to serve as a guide for their implementation.

Challenges.

Aside from the disadvantages that accompanied the modular academic calendar and the restrictions due to COVID-19, the issue of some members and some executives being uncooperative significantly hindered the execution of some initiatives. This lead to very few members and executives shouldering all the work that had to be done. The commitment of all the members of the society is something that successive administrations would have to inculcate in members since the continuous success of the society is contingent on.

Experiences.

For me as an individual, holding office as the Editor-In-Chief of GHABSA-UG was a learning experience. I must say that my editing and formatting skills have improved greatly. I have become conversant with Microsoft Word, Excel and Publisher, and Google sites. I have gained more insight into the intricacies of working with people whom one has not met face-to-face. I have gained more leadership and teamwork experience. Above all, I have built resilience.

Conclusion.

I would like to express my profound gratitude to all those who made my tenure a success. Especially, my two deputies, Kevin Lamptey and Peter Baddoo. To the two, I am most grateful for their immense support. I wish my successor well and a wonderful and fulfilling experience. Yes, it is daunting but as Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it is done.”

KWESI OBUOBISA AYEH

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (2020/2021)

EDITORIAL SOCIETY, GHABSA-UG