Fearless Ambition: Meet Aspiring Computer Engineer, Cynthia Gouanfo ‘18

I believe in the notion that we never meet people by accident; there’s always a purpose. I first spoke to Cynthia the day she arrived at Ashesi from Cameroon. I was thrilled to meet and interact with a Cameroonian (I had never met one before). But there was more to it than just that. Cynthia and I connected right away, and before I knew it, she became a part of my inner circle of friends.

Last week, Cynthia joined me for dinner at the school cafeteria. Half way through our conversation, she told me she considered herself an introvert (something I would never have guessed if she hadn’t told me). With me being quite the chatterbox, it was not unusual that I had not noticed she was not a talker.

“I am worried that my personality could weigh me down at Ashesi, where everyone is encouraged to be bold and take charge,” Cynthia said. I quickly realised, that in since we had met in her first week at Ashesi, I had never asked Cynthia what her ambitions and life goals were; neither had I asked how her past was helping her shape her future. This was my chance!

“I wanted to wake up every morning completely in love with my work. I wanted to do something I could talk about all day, that excited and motivated me.”

“I grew up in Douala, Cameroon, where I studied until I arrived in Ghana,” Cynthia told me. “As a young girl, I believed I was going to be President of Cameroon someday. As a result, I paid close attention to politics and among my peers I had an unusual awareness of current affairs.”

A few years on, however, Cynthia became disenchanted with the “politics” of politics. “I learned that such stately, royal power came with its own share of dirty, immoral acts, which made me uncomfortable,” Cynthia explained. “I wanted to wake up every morning completely in love with my work. I wanted to do something I could talk about all day, that excited and motivated me.”

As Cynthia explored different areas of learning, she developed an aptitude for information technology. As she explained the excitement of Computer Science, I could almost feel the passion in her voice.

“It is exciting to think of all the different things that can be solved with computer software,” Cynthia said. “I like that technology allows us to solve our problems on our own without financial constraints or having to depend on others.”

“I am going to be a Computer/ Software engineer, and this time I am super sure,” Cynthia says. “I am not discouraged by the stereotypes of women when it comes to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. I have seen many other women breaking career barriers for younger people like myself, and this motivates me.”

It was past 9 pm, and I had not even realised it. Cynthia’s calmness in describing her vision was very reassuring. She is a paragon of girls with ambition and fearlessness. As we walked back to our dorm together, I accepted that Cynthia Gouanfo is not just a friend, she is an inspiration.