NACDA McLendon Foundation Postgraduate Scholar.

Being named a NACDA McLendon Foundation Postgraduate Scholar is not just an award, it is one of the highest affirmations of my leadership, service, and lifelong commitment to transforming sport systems. I carry this honor with profound humility as the first African selected from the African continent, a milestone that reflects the strength of my journey and the undeniable rise of African sport leadership on the global stage.

My story is shaped by years of service across Ghana’s sport landscape: helping bring the 13th African Games and the first-ever African Para Games to life, inspiring more than 100,000 young people through national sport development programs, advancing disability sport research, and supporting pathways that give young athletes and future leaders a chance to be seen, heard, and empowered.

This scholarship is more than an achievement, it is the McLendon Foundation’s belief in my vision, in my heart for people, and in my responsibility to build systems that uplift athletes and communities. It represents the doors I have opened, the work I have poured into my country, and the promise of the impact I will create.

Now, as I pursue my education in the United States, I do so carrying my continent, my community, and my purposewith me. I step forward not only as a scholar, but as a bridge-builder, committed to shaping sport systems that are stronger, safer, more inclusive, and rooted in opportunity. My journey is a testament that where you begin does not define what you can become and that the future of global sport will be richer when every voice, every culture, and every community has a place in the story.