Africa To Boca: Ofori’s Local Impact
By Alli Mancini
Assistant Editor
With almost 25 percent of Lynn’s community coming from around the globe, the move to college continues to prove to be both challenging and rewarding.
For Daniel Ofori, this transition is difficult at times, as he comes from Accra, Ghana, located in West Africa, and does not get to see his family too frequently. Ofori is a 3.0 student majoring in international business and minoring in public relations.
While this is his first time living away from home, he has had the oppurtunity to travel and experience different parts of the world in the past. Ofori has been to the Netherlands, England, United Arab Emirates (UAE), China and Nigeria. To aid these experiences, Ofori is also affluent in English, French, Akan and TWI, which stems from Niger-Congo.
“It’s entertaining to meet people from all different cultures and backgrounds to learn why people do the things they do,” said Ofori. “Seeing the world is a blessing because I get to see the steps and processes one has to make in order to make a positive impact on society.”
In Ghana, Ofori and his family celebrate Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas. Usually, his Sundays consist of going to church, having brunch and watching soccer at home. While his life was rather consistent in his homeland, Ofori has continued to voice his frustrations over the stereotypical assumptions of Africa.
“Africa is stereotyped as a place of constant struggle and lack of improvement and poverty. This is false, though, because Africa is centered around traditionalist communities,” said Ofori. “These communities enable individuals to strive for success while people believe in communal growth.”
In fact, the Ghanan has used this same principle of communal growth in his collegiate career.
At Lynn, Ofori has served as a peer leader, the treasurer of the Black Student Union, the captain of the club soccer team and SAB president. He also works for the Office of Admission and has volunteered for The Miracle League of Delray Beach.
“I always try to be more conscious about my environment and see the need of getting involved on or off campus,” said Ofori. “Because of my hard work and commitment to my communities, I have received awards for excellence in commitment to service.”
This Fighting Knight realizes the importance of being involved and how every action is a reflection of himself. While Ofori is in a foreign land, he appears to be achieving excellence in his time at Lynn.
