Currently, I am a fellow in the Donald M. Payne International Development program, a USAID fellowship that provides funding for a two-year master’s program and entry into the USAID Foreign Service. I will join the foreign service as an environment officer after my master’s studies in environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

My Bass Connections project introduced me to how my studies in environmental engineering are applicable to international development. This project solidified my interest in pursuing a career in this field and was one of my most memorable experiences at Duke.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was understanding the importance of collaboration and partnership with local institutions. We would not have been able to be as effective or bring the awareness to pollution in Suame Magazine, Ghana, if it was not for the collaboration between the Duke Bass Connections team and the team from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

I had the opportunity this past summer to return to Ghana and intern at USAID’s West Africa Regional Office based in Accra. I had a unique opportunity to work on a congressional delegation visit and attend a dinner hosted by the Ghanaian Parliament. Speaker Oquaye mentioned Suame Magazine in his speech and hoped that US officials would visit this industrial zone.