AFRICA | A determined African lady named Mabel Darkoo has achieved remarkable success despite facing setbacks in the course of her academic journey.
After failing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC) twice, she went on to graduate with First-Class Honours in Public Administration and Information Studies from the University of Ghana.
Reflecting on her journey, Mabel recounted the challenges she faced before achieving success. She wrote her first WAEC in 2017 and she failed then she gave it another try the following year—only to fail again.
The second failure broke her deeply. She deactivated her social media, withdrew from her friends, and hid from the world. Mabel described the period as a time of darkness and self-doubt, and being rejected by the university deepened the pain.
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Despite the rejections, she refused to give up. She sat for the exam a third time that same year and passed. While waiting for admission, she turned to creativity. She started learning graphics design, a skill that later became her identity.
In 2019, she finally gained admission into the University of Ghana. Mabel resumed university, determined to start afresh. However, the following year, in 2020 COVID-19 pandemic happened and schools were shut down.
But Mabel used the time to sharpen her graphic design skills and explore entrepreneurship. By 2021, she had already learned how to monetize her skills and grow her small business.
As a student, Mabel took on leadership roles, building connections, and running a thriving business. Balancing the responsibilities with her studies was very challenging as she had days filled with meetings, volunteering efforts, student politics, and entrepreneurship responsibilities.
She recalled how people around her began to worry that she was doing too much, warning her to slow down, pause, and focus solely on her studies, fearing that her grades would suffer, reminding her of her earlier academic failures.
However, Mabel was determined to challenge the belief that students involved in extracurricular activities were bound to perform poorly. Her goal was not to simply pass through university, she wanted to make every moment count.
She shaped herself through every challenge, every opportunity, and every connection, even though it was taxing, she persevered and remained determined.
”I remember vividly how I used to carry Sourvenirs around with my tiny body with sweat all over, climbing the stairs with heavy picture frames to my room, the late night designing of flyers, and many more…while monitoring my GPA,” she said.
Though she missed some classes due to travel and work, she never missed a single assignment or exam and made sure to track her grade points. Mabel’s hard work paid off, and she graduated with an outstanding first-class honors.
She stated that her achievement is not just about academic success but freedom and proof that students can be more than just their books—that they can dream, build, lead, and still excel.
Mabel further said her story is a powerful reminder to every student holding on to a dream that their journey is valid, their path is their own, and they are allowed to be more than one thing.
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