By Isaac Arkoh, GNA
Cape Coast, July 08, GNA – Ms Dorothy Asante, the Chairperson of the Mfantseman Old Girls’ Association (MOGA) 2003, had urged teen girls to pursue academic excellence, integrity and professionalism as lifelong guiding principles.
She said these habits built both opportunity and character, and opened doors to further education and career, while integrity and professionalism would earn them trust, responsibility and confidence.
The combination of these traits, she said, could help strengthen confidence and reduce the pressure to seek approval through shortcuts or comparison.
The result is not only better school performance, but a life built on competence, character and respect, Ms Asante said, at the launch of a two-year MOGA 2003 Empowerment Summit for first year students.
The mentorship runs through 2028 and will conclude with the mentees’ graduation and MOGA 2003’s 25th anniversary and the school’s 68th Speech and Prize‑Giving Day.
The programme is value‑driven and purpose‑centred, aimed at personal formation, identity development and character building rather than mere motivational talks.
The initiative focuses on leadership development, life skills, values formation and future preparedness using intentional teaching, one‑to‑one mentoring and practical activities.
By 2028, the MOGA 2003 would have mentored graduates of the school to be disciplined, confident, purposedriven young women who make wise life choices and lead with integrity.
Ms Priscilla Akonor, a human resource professional and an alumnus, described character as “doing the right thing even when nobody’s watching,” and buttressed how early lessons from her parents shaped the moral compass that guided her through school.
She said her upbringing emphasised not only rules but values of fairness, kindness, responsibility, honesty, gratitude, self-control, accountability and contentment that had become her watch words.
According to Ms Akoon, those values helped her resist common school pressures such as gossip, shortcuts and the urge to fit in at all cost.
She credited lessons in empathy for preventing her from joining in when peers were mistreated, and responsibility and self-control for helping her make difficult but principled choices.
Home-based expectations around credibility and accountability, she said encouraged reliability and the willingness to apologise when wrong and discontentment reduced the need to chase social approval.
Ms Abena Yalley, a corporate lawyer, urged the girls to recognise that deliberate choices and disciplined habits, shaped by daily decisions about time use, good friendships and learning, build long-term success, not luck.
She warned against peer pressure, victim mentality, risky sexual relationships which could lead to emotional harm, unintended pregnancy, STIs and disrupted studies.
They should avoid distractions of social media, advising that abstinence was the safest option, and encouraged the students to seek help and accurate information when the need arose.
Ms Mabel Madjikie Madjie, a bilingual communications professional, urged the girls to “become the woman you decide to be,” stressing that identity rests on inherent worth and values rather than grades, looks, popularity, or others’ opinions.
She warned against negative peer pressure, using the example of friends urging someone to skip class, and encouraged them to define themselves by purpose and character.
Drawing on her own experiences, she said discipline, courage, respect, resilience and consistent small acts of determination compounded into meaningful success.
Mrs Roselyn Ayorkor Sowah, Headmistress of the school thanked MOGA 2003 for their support, urged the girls to avoid promiscuity, value their education and uphold school standards.
The alumni, parents and the community should also keep supporting the school’s mission to prepare and raise responsible young women.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Isaac Arkoh
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]