Michael Ankrah

by | May 7, 2021 | Spotlight

Spotlight

Introducing Michael Ankrah (aka Bullet) ……

 

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

 I remember starting my primary school at Prestea Anglican Primary School in about 1968. My parents had travelled to the United Kingdom, so I was staying with my great grandmother. However, in 1970 my sister Hetty and I were sent to stay with a family friend, Ms Mary Badu in Akropong, Akwapim. Here, I spent two years at Demonstration Primary School and just when I passed the entrance exam to the middle school in 1972, my parents returned and moved us to Accra. I was admitted at Association International School, Class Five and it was from there I sat the Common Entrance and found myself at Achimota School.

I think my parents chose Achimota School for me because my uncle (Dr David Yankey) was on the School Board. I started off in Form 1D and settled in Gyamfi House with eleven hard young men. I learnt to play cricket, hockey, badminton, volleyball etc. and enjoyed all the games we played. I was already quite conversant with table tennis and ended up playing in almost every house that had a table tennis set up. The inter- house rivalry was most pleasant and I enjoyed it tremendously.

I enjoyed the Golden Jubilee celebration so much and I remember taking part in the mass gymnastics right across from the chapel. Anytime I go to the Aggrey chapel, I still see myself hopping and jumping around the place. I breezed through to Form 5, the O level appeared and disappeared.

I found myself in L6A, but I wasn’t comfortable with Economics and History, so I forced a change to L6M to join my dear paddies, Bobzu (Kwadwo) and Smart (Clarence). Sixth form was another experience. I got grounded in my faith as I moved on with wonderful people like EMiT, Dag, Agyesco (Raymond), Frank Millen, Eddy, Herman, Gre (Gladys), Tiokor (Angela) and others.

Maybe just one confession to make during my Motown years.  I had a serious crush on one of the girls (shall remain nameless), when we both started off in form 1D, but somehow navigated the whole year without uttering a single word to her. I do wonder if she had any idea though…..

Unfortunately for me I missed the Medico boat and ended up at the University of Ghana, Legon reading Crop Science. It took a bit of an adjustment and I almost flopped my FUE. I reorganized myself and bounced back to finish in the top 5% of my class. I graduated with an honours degree in Plant Protection and Entomology.

 

Can you give us a brief synopsis of your career history?

 I did my national service at the Crop Science Department as a teaching research assistant for two years. I then got employed by the Ministry of Agriculture as Plant Protection Officer in Cape Coast. Two years later, I was promoted and transferred to Takoradi. In 1992 I won a scholarship to pursue a postgraduate degree in plant protection methods in Germany.

On my return in 1994, I was promoted to head the regional office of the department. My major schedule was the training and supervision of plant quarantine services at the harbour and border entry points. I completed several other training programs in Ouagadougou, Cote d’ivoire and Switzerland to further strengthen my hand in delivering my mandate.

Sometime in 1998, I got to know that the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) was looking for agriculturists to support a project they were funding in Asutsuare near the Kpong Dam. I enquired about it and was offered a job to help promote the rice project which had just been initiated. On 1st July 2000, I started work at the ADB as a project officer and worked on the rice project for two years. Once the inventory system at the project had been stabilized, I decided to look for other challenges and then transferred to operations (mainline banking).

 

 Can you tell us a bit more about the next phase of your career?

 After taking a few more courses, I was Operations Manager for two branches until 2010. Management had decided to list on the stock exchange but the Nostro accounts were in a mess, so a project was put in place to try to straighten the accounts out. I was transferred to the Nostro reconciliation team on 2nd January 2012. The work here was quite tedious. It involved matching transactions in the various accounts with our foreign corresponding to ensure that outstanding transactions were real.

The six member team managed to clean up all our Nostro accounts by the end of 2014. By this time, the bank got a software to move the Nostro accounts from a largely manual system to a digital system. Then the bank was passed to proceed with its programme towards the listing. In 2016 after a series of hiccups, ADB was listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Currently I am involved in ensuring that we remit to the Revenue Authority all monies due government by way of taxes and levies on due dates as demanded by law.

 

 

You spent some time in Germany for your Postgraduate degree. How was the experience and were there any difficulties in learning the language and adapting to the culture?

 I enjoyed my time in Germany. I met very nice families and made lots of friends. Fortunately for me learning the language was quite simple because l had done about 3 months beginners’ course while I was doing my National Service in Legon. I got promoted from the beginners’ class after three weeks and I spent 4 months learning the language – 2 months of which I spent with a lovely family, Karl Heinz & Elisabeth Schultheiss and their 3 kids. There were a few times however, when I met people especially old ladies on the bus who were not so nice. And once a female colleague from Tunisia faced outright assault from a university student.

 

Auslanderfahigkeit (translation – “hatred for foreigners”), is exhibited once a while but overall it I had a positive experience in Germany. We, Lynda and l, once cooked yam and garden egg stew for the host family and they enjoyed it. Or so it seemed then.

I took part in festival called Fasching and it had people dressed like the masqueraders we have at Christmas here in Ghana. And the very infectious ‘ ‘beer garten’ when people drink beer like water from dawn to dusk. I also learnt to appreciate museums and beautiful castles especially in the Bayern region. Also, alles ute. (After all is said and done, all is well.”)…

What about Family life?

 On Sept 10th, 1994, I married my sweetheart, Matilda, who is the sister of a very good childhood friend, Alfred Asare-Duah. We have enjoyed a very healthy union since then. We have three children, Maame Adwoa, who is currently a teaching assistant at Spanish and French Departments at Legon; Papa Yaw, is in Level 400 Pharmacy at Central University; and Nana Kodwo, who is in his final year at Achimota School, Guggisberg House.

My wife, Matilda has been very supportive and a real help-meet. Where my patience gets down to nil with respect to the management of the kids, she comes in to make things smooth again. I am her biggest fan ……

It’s great to hear that your son has followed in your footsteps continuing the proud tradition of generations of the same family attending our beloved alma mater. Some people allegedly say Motown isn’t the same as it used to be when we there in the mid-70s. Can you give us a brief insight as to how the school is today and in your opinion what do you think the school needs to get back to those so-called glory days?

 Achimota School today is over-populated. This has given rise to the gold/ green tracks where each class is divided into two groups and they attend school at different times. The problem is that one group has a complement of seasoned teachers while the other group has to do with mostly newly recruited teachers.

In addition to that problem, some houses have issues with water, so they have had to resort to bore-holes to supplement the pipe borne water. However, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is filling in quite well to make the students a bit comfortable.

As far as the issue of pupil numbers, I wonder what can be done except to cut down on numbers, which I doubt will be feasible. We now have two new houses and a new Assembly Hall beyond the Anumle gate. Thirty additional security men have been employed to mitigate the increased risk, apart from the five or so who are catered for by the government. Thankfully the PTA takes care of these extra personnel.

Getting back to the good old days would require more commitment to teaching and learning than we have now. Most teachers are prepared to teach if you engage them for extra classes and the concept of “apo” leakage (even at the basic level exam) is every students’ expectation. It will take a bit more effort to get them to see that cheating is wrong. Might be worth a further discussion amongst all.

  

You mentioned earlier about spending some time in Ouagadougou and Abidjan, are there any comparatives between Accra in terms of the infrastructure / People friendliness etc.?

 Ouagadougou is a very disciplined city. Infrastructure wise, we are a bit ahead, but they have very neat roads and disciplined motorists. Motor bike riders obey traffic regulations and roads are much safer for both motorists and pedestrians.

Abidjan is much like Ghana but has some beautiful areas. It’s also quite neat but the police (gendarme) are quite obstinate and it’s not advisable to deal with them at all if you have the choice.

The French take their siesta very seriously. The lunch break is religiously observed and most workers will go back home for lunch and to have some rest before going back to work in the afternoon.

 

Are you involved in any voluntary/ mentoring activities etc?

 Outside official work I am involved in the church- Methodist church at Dansoman, where I currently reside. I lead bible study, prayer meetings and do some counselling now and then.

 

Retirement looms around the corner for most of our year group which scares some People. Do you share the same sentiment or are you rather looking forward looking to it?

I am looking at some real estate here and there. I am converting a property to a hostel and another rental piece in Kasoa area. I hope to establish a bookshop to keep me active and reading. As far as being scared to retire, It’s a NO from me, as I expect retirement to give me more opportunity to interact with people and places with the message of hope in Jesus Christ.

 

And finally, how will you be celebrating your impending birthday?

My birthday is a couple of weeks away. Fortunately, my eldest, youngest and I celebrate our birthdays within a period of five days and so the family usually spend a weekend out of Accra. We are thinking of going to Akosombo this year if no counter proposal comes up.

 

Michael Ankrah

1D, 2A, 3A, 4S1, 5S1, L6M, U6M

Gyamfi House

Edward Kwaw

by | Jan 3, 2021 | Spotlight

Spotlight

Introducing Edward Kwaw ….

 

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

 I am a Tadi boy through and through and attended Chapel Hill Preparatory school, did quite well in the common entrance exams and got accepted into Achimota Secondary School in 1975.

 Achimota was my first choice because my older siblings were there, and my Dad happened to be an Akora as well. The house selection process is a bit of a blur now, but G’berg seemed to be the house of choice at the time because my eldest brother was in that house. I remember the house master (I believe he was called “Ablorz”- Mr Ablordeppey) really selling the “pros” of being in G’berg house to my parents while I wandered around the dorms and went through the process of choosing my perch in one of the junior dormitories upstairs.

It was all a bit strange at the time, being so far away from home as an 11 year old, having to consider pleading with the old folks to take me back home or putting up a brave front and hoping for the best.  I decided on the latter of course. I vaguely remember Ablorz confirming how safe the box rooms were to my parents after I’d deposited my “chop-box” there. My box got broken into a day after the seniors arrived, an interesting prelude to my days in Motown.

My path through Achimota wasn’t very exciting, with the only dramatic part being my having to repeat form 3 because there was this impression that I needed to do better in science.  Friendships broke as a result of that and I had to reckon with being junior to my mates.  That was quite a bitter pill to swallow. My journey continued with a sixth form stint at Achimota Sec school the year after my GC 80 mates had left.

I then went to the University of Science and Technology (UST) now Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), to study Civil Engineering. UST was great because I had a second home there.  Any time I felt I needed to eat good food and had the need to be in a home environment, I would walk to Nana Kegya’s home.  Auntie Bertha, Nana Kegya’s mum of blessed memory, would ask me if I’d like to eat fufu, and the obvious answer would be yes.  Well, Nana is my first cousin, I call her my best cousin and needs no introduction here. My mums’ maiden name is Amonoo-Neizer.  I always looked forward to my next visit knowing very well that I’d be well fed and watered.

 

My working life began with the German construction firm Adolf Lupp where I designed and built a couple of hospitals for the Catholic church in the Volta region, played a key part in the construction of the Bauxite conveyor belt system at the Takoradi harbour and supervised the reconstruction of the Calbank building in Takoradi. The itch to do something else saw me move to the UK in 1990 to pursue a Masters degree in Structural Engineering and Construction Management at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

What about Family life?

 After my studies at Newcastle, I was faced with the decision of either going back to Ghana or moving to Germany where my long-term girlfriend Gloria, now my wife, was studying.  As anyone can imagine, this wasn’t a difficult decision to make.

Gloria and I got married in Germany in 1995, had our first child a year afterwards and still managed to complete our studies. We are now blessed with three children. Our first currently works for Hitachi and is working from home just like all of us are, because of the COVID-19 situation, and our last two are in secondary school.

What brought you back to the UK?

Germany came with its own challenges with me having to learn the language, work to make ends meet, deal with racism in the 90s and study.  I had decided to go back into academia and completed a PhD in Computer Graphics and Software Ergonomics.

 I got “headhunted” close to the completion of my PhD dissertation, and since our siblings lived in the UK, the prospects of re-uniting with them made this a dream come true.  I was moving straight into a job and would be close to our respective families again.  What more could one ask for?

With my PhD, I had completely moved away from Civil Engineering and entered the IT world going through a series of roles ranging from Customer Success Management, to Account Management and Senior Support Management. I started off by working for a company called Parametric Technology Limited in 2000, moved to Hewlett Packard (HP), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and am currently working for a company called Micro Focus Limited as a Senior Enterprise Security Software Support Manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

 

You’ve recently started a new side venture. Can you enlighten us as to what it is and also the reasons behind your new start up?

 Well, my wife said I’m going through a late mid-life crisis and she may be right.

I’ve worked for other people all my working life and thought I’d like to have something that I could call my own.  Something that I could continue doing even beyond retirement.  That’s how the KONCO Limited idea was born. I am currently focussing on “Design and Print” with KONCO Apparel and have clothing stores on Amazon, RedBubble and Teespring. I have other projects at the back of mind as well but will defer discussing those for now.

The aim with KONCO Apparel is to give people the opportunity to express themselves through bespoke print on demand designs that would make them feel good about themselves when wearing those designs. It is still early days with this business venture, and I am very thankful to GC 80 for supporting this idea so far.

The first year of a fledgling business is usually fraught with difficulties. Have you come across any potential roadblocks yet and is there anything that GC might be able to help?

 Indeed, I know of many people who have given up on their business ideas at the early stages because of the difficulties they’d had. I started this venture knowing things wouldn’t be easy and that I’d have to just hang in there somehow. My current challenge is driving traffic to my stores regularly to generate a steady sales stream month on month. 

I’ve had a lot of great feedback from GC members and hope that this will result in recommendations to various GC contacts.  I have already received some private orders from a few GC members, and I am very appreciative of that.

Below are links to my website and to some of my stores.

Website: https://www.koncoapparel.com

RedBubble: https://rdbl.co/2WeSsgA

Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/3a7Cih2

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/3oO4z08

 

Are you involved in any voluntary/mentoring activities?

 I am currently a member of a church group founded by my wife 10 years ago called Basingstoke African Caribbean Catholic Association (BACCA). The purpose of this group is to provide people of African and Caribbean origin or affiliation an opportunity to increase their sense of belonging in our church parish and the community, based on their faith and common background.

We tend to organise a lot of events centred around strengthening our support and social networks and ensuring that we involve our kids in everything we do.

 

What are your hobbies?

Other than family time and travelling, I am a nonprofessional DJ.  Yes, I know, a DJ and I didn’t sign up for the GC 2020 reunion DJ competition. Well, I guess my focus was on presenting my business and felt I’d skip the DJ competition at the time. In hindsight, I should have joined and challenged Emma.

Below is part of my setup. I’m known to organise get togethers’ on the spur of the moment, get a few friends together in a hall with a bar, and just “jam”. It’s always great fun.

Where is your favourite place to visit on holiday and why?

 I am widely travelled and I’m sure the typical places to mention would be towns in Europe, USA, the Caribbean etc., but my favourite place to visit on holiday is currently Ghana, purely because my parents are still there and I like to catch up on all the time I am unable to spend with them because I am away.

  

Outside of work, what do you do for relaxation?

My time outside of work is spent writing blogs, exercising, watching TV/movies and going for walks in the woods. I’ve discovered a health application on my phone and use that regularly to reach my goal of a minimum of 6000 steps a day.

And finally, what are we likely to see the Kwaw Family doing on a Sunday?

 Going to church first and foremost, eating “brunch” together, going for a walk in the woods and cooking for the week ahead. We try to make our Sundays as light as possible in readiness for the hectic week ahead.

  

Edward Kwaw

1C, 2C, 3C x2, 4S3, 5S3, L6(E), U6(E)

Guggisberg House

Jacob Obeng

by | Nov 23, 2020 | Spotlight

Spotlight

Introducing Jacob Obeng aka “Jake Solo” ….

 

 

Most of us started Form One together but you joined us in the sixth form.  Why was that?

 I chose to attend secondary school at Prempeh College primarily because my immediate family was in Kumasi, where I was born, and it was at the time one of the best secondary schools in Ghana. However, I am half Ga and my extended family homes were in Accra, and my family used to travel to Accra from Kumasi at least four times a year.  I always wanted to spend more time in Accra, and so made a decision to attend 6th Form in Accra by the time I started 5th Form at Prempeh College.  Achimota School was at the time also one of the best secondary schools in Ghana and mixed gender, which would be a different atmosphere and vibe versus the predominantly male Prempeh College.  Achimota School was my first choice for 6th Form, and I was fortunate enough to gain admission based on my good “O”-Levels examination results.

  

Tell us more about Jacob?

I was born on 22nd September, 1963 in Kumasi, where I lived with my four brothers and parents of Ga heritage until relocating to Accra in 1980.  However, I was in the U.S.A. with my immediate family from 1969-1970 while my father was pursuing his PhD degree, and attended elementary school during that one year period.  Most of my primary education was at City of Kumasi Preparatory School following which I attended secondary school Forms 1-5 at Prempeh College, where I successfully received my GCE O-level certificate specialising in Mathematics, Sciences and Geography.  I attended 6th Form at Achimota School from 1980-1982, where I was in Aggrey House, a science student and received my GCE A-level certificate.  I enrolled at University of Ghana, Legon for one year prior to transferring to Iowa State University (I.S.U.) in the U.S.A. in 1984 and obtained my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Chemical Engineering, specializing in R&D and processing of advanced high-technology specialty materials.

Mathematics and Applied Sciences have always been my youthful passion, which enabled me to attain my childhood dream to be an engineer.  Most of my engineering career (25+ years) has been as a hands-on product/process engineer in energy storage battery, semiconductor integrated circuits (IC) microchip, and solar energy product manufacturing in U.S.A., Canada, and more recently, in Ghana, where I managed the setup, commissioning and operation of a world-class solar photovoltaic (PV) module factory from 2015-2016.  The highlight so far of my professional engineering career was the two years I spent from 1995-1997 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. working as a wafer fabrication process engineer for Intel, the global leader in microprocessor chip technology.

 

I have been married since December 2013, and have two boys Prince and Junior, 6 years and 2 years old respectively, with my wife Rebecca.

 

Aside from the above, do you have any other passions, e.g., Sports?

I was a multi-sport student-athlete from elementary school through university excelling in field hockey, soccer and track & field.  I was on the field hockey school teams for Prempeh College, Achimota School, University of Ghana, Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions.  I was on the soccer and track & field teams for Iowa State University, and capped my sporting career playing semi-professional soccer in U.S.A. and Canada from 1992-2002, including featuring as a top striker for New Mexico Chiles of the USISL, two divisions below the current North American Major League Soccer (MLS).

 

I also have a strong passion for live band music, hanging out/exercising at the beach and gym, spending time with family, and supporting charitable causes.  I promoted and organized live reggae and African music concerts in U.S.A., Canada and Ghana, co-managed a few high-profile reggae and Ghanaian musicians, and executive produced musical recordings and videos.

What made you decide to relocate back to Ghana after 25 years in the U.S.A. and Canada?

Primarily due to personal reasons, to spend more time with my aging parents, to reconnect with extended family and old acquaintances.  I finally moved back to Ghana in December 2014 just prior to the birth of my first child in January 2015.  I eventually took up a senior management role with Strategic Power Solutions (SPS), a Ghanaian-owned renewable energy company with HQ and solar PV module factory in Kpone Industrial Area.  Although I spent most of 2019 in Canada, I have spent the bulk of the past five years in Ghana working as a Senior Technical & Business Development Consultant primarily in the renewable energy and manufacturing sectors.  Working in Ghana has been a challenge due to the different work culture and management styles, with Ghana being generally a more reactive, less efficient and productive work environment.

What are your thoughts of the fledgling Solar Energy Industry in Ghana?

The solar energy industry in Ghana is promising in the mid to long-term.  However, due to the current excess generation capacity versus peak electricity demand of at least 2GW, deployment of utility-scale solar energy power plants has slowed the past few years and will be slow in the near-term.  Adoption of small capacity (less than 20kWp) standalone, residential, and mid capacity (100kWp – 5MWp) commercial & industrial (C&I) solar PV systems are ongoing and expected to increase exponentially with the increased availability of reasonable-term financing solutions.

One encouraging development is that a handful of indigenous companies have invested in factories to locally produce major components of solar PV systems, including PV modules, AC/DC inverters, energy storage batteries, and mounting structures.  With the Renewable Energy Act (2011) and various long-term commitments by government, the outlook for Ghana’s fledgling solar energy industry is promising and set to transition Ghana from its major dependence on fossil fuels to clean renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs) by 2040.

 

Are you involved in any Voluntary or Charitable activities?

 Yes… For at least the past five years, I have provided financial and logistical support to an orphanage in Nsawam-Adoagyiri called the “Eye of The Lord”, which was founded by a partially blind patron, Mr. Samuel Kwapong Darko, and his wife.  The orphanage houses and provides on-site education for orphaned children aged a few months to ten years.

I also provide mentorship to the youth in various local communities in the Greater Accra region, in particular in the Ablekuma North constituency where my immediate family home is located.  I am also getting more involved in initiatives to clean up our environment, including waste segmentation and recycling of plastics, and as well as political activities at the constituency level.

What is the one dream/ambition that you would like to achieve within the next ten years?

 To invest in and get my own registered business, I-Squared Integrated Industries Ltd., off the ground and have sustained growth. The core mandate of I-Squared is to use technological innovations to add value in a sustainable manner to our natural survival resources, including the sun, air, water, food, and eco-friendly housing.

 

Does Prempeh College have an active year group?  And if so, are there any good ideas which OAA80-GC could consider implementing?

Yes… I have been an active member of the Prempeh College Amanfoo 1980 year group since 2013, when I initially relocated to Ghana from Canada.

OAA80-GC is well-organized, active, progressive, and supportive of each other and our alma mater.  The only suggestion I will make is for us to consider creating a second WhatsApp group forum with exclusive focus on serious matters, announcements and events relevant to Achimota School and our year group.  I believe a majority of us are not able to keep up with all the various messages on the main WhatsApp group forum, and may miss out on some serious discussions or announcements, which get swamped in the multitude of light-hearted messages.

 

 

Jacob Obeng

L6(E), U6(E)

Aggrey House

Emmanuel Arbenser

by | Sep 26, 2019 | Spotlight

Spotlight

Emmanuel Arbenser, popularly known to all of us as Emma, has and continues to be a very passionate and active member of the 1980 year group.

What can you tell us about yourself? 
Over the past twenty years, I have been privileged and honoured to serve this wonderful and fantastic group in various capacities notably as a two term group secretary and also as a long term President. I have been happily married for the past twenty six years and we have been blessed with two sons. I currently work for the London Ambulance Service manning a front line emergency ambulance.

How has your career evolved over the years?
I did not start my career in the Ambulance Service. I had the opportunity to study medicine but my real passion was flying. I originally trained as a pilot gaining my Private Pilots License and then my Commercial Pilots License. Unfortunately, I missed the boat with airline sponsorship since the Air Transport Pilots License was beyond my means. I reluctantly gave up the commercial dream but I still fly light aircraft to remain current.

I decided to pursue a career in IT and project management. I am a PRINCE2 Practitioner and was working as a project manager in the IT industry. I was a mainframe developer specialising in main frame applications, DTP and web design. I had a fantastic career in IT working for a couple of banks in the UK before relocating to Paris to work for Société Générale, project managing financial programs I developed which are still in use today.

You were in banking so how did you end up working for the Ambulance Service? 
I was living in Paris for five years and commuting weekly between London, Paris and Madrid when our first son was born. This became exhausting so I relocated to London nine months later. I remained in the industry until our second son was born and I resigned shortly afterwards to care for my son.  As most of you are aware, I was born into the world of medicine so it must be in my blood. After a couple of years mulling about how best to contribute in the field of medicine, I decided to train as a medic since I had found this experience so rewarding.

How did you find the transition from banking to health care?
Initially, it was difficult since one had to go back to school and study again. We are trained extremely well to cope with the unexpected and we receive advanced driver training to enable us drive at high speed in all conditions. I found all my hospital placements very interesting especially in theatre and the maternity unit. The job is extremely rewarding and varied since it could be a routine job of a sports injury, a cardiac arrest, a stroke or simply delivering a baby. Unfortunately, times have changed and we are tasked to dealing with stabbing and shootings on a fairly regular basis.

I also work for SORT (Special Operations Retrieval Team) which is part of the service. We receive specialist training since we are tasked to specific major incidents. This role requires a high level of fitness and is activated at a moment’s notice. We are on call 24 hours a day (365 days a year) so being part of this team can be extremely difficult especially with a young family. I was already used to the long hours and stress in the city so that was not an issue.

Working on a frontline ambulance can be very stressful but this is a different type of stress. I am on a night rota so one downfall to this job is being a single responder in the dead of night, not knowing if it is a safe environment when you arrive on scene whilst waiting for backup. However, the advantage of this particular shift rota gives me the opportunity to engage in other ventures outside of work.

Are you involved with other educational institutions other than our year group?
I am very passionate about education and believe every child has the right to good quality education, particularly children with SEN. I am a school governor for a Special Needs School and also a member of the Executive Select Committee for Education for a Local Authority. Within this role, I am the Special Needs Representative for primary and secondary phases in the Borough. It does take up a substantial amount of time but it is all about making a difference to each child’s life, especially the disadvantaged.

Finally, what do you do for relaxation?
As a family, we love being outdoors and my children love swimming. I am an avid sailor and love water sports so I usually spend my vacation camping out in the great outdoors and boating on rivers and lakes, particularly in the Norfolk Broads. I still ride when I get the opportunity but flying remains a passion. I build and fly model aircraft for a hobby and my sons are into drones. I am so grateful these activities give me the opportunity to spend quality time with my family.

Emmanuel Arbenser
Cadbury House.
(The House of Gentlemen)

Look out for our next Spotlight Edition on Sylvester Atta Mensah