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Photo by Dan Addison |
| Fatima Boamah |
May
18, 2005
By Matt Kelly
Working full-time, adapting to a new culture, raising
three children and attending school at night is difficult — that’s
a fact. But it’s not impossible if you’re determined
and organized. Fatima Boamah is both.
“I
wanted to finish my bachelor’s degree before my oldest
child became a teenager,” she said. Her eldest, Richard,
is nine. “If you are determined, you can see past the
difficulties.”
She has done just that. Boamah, 34, will walk the Lawn
on May 22 to accept her bachelor’s of interdisciplinary
studies degree, with a concentration in business.
A native of Ghana, Boamah works in the accounting department
and audit unit at State Farm Insurance in Charlottesville.
Her new degree will help her advance professionally.
Her organizational skills also included giving birth
to her third child, Madelyn, in her final semester.
“We
planned it,” she said. “I made sure when I
became pregnant that I only had two classes left for that
semester.”
There were times, Boamah said, when it was tough
to juggle everything, but she never considered
delaying her education.
She credited her husband, Fred, with tremendous
support and help with the children while she
was in class
and
doing homework.
With the rigors of school over, she wants to
spend more time with her family.
“
I have taken a lot of time away from them,” she said,
while admitting she will miss being at BIS. “I like
the exchange of ideas, the team building, the institution
and my colleagues.”
Boamah’s family came to Charlottesville, where they
had relatives, directly from Ghana in 1996 “to further
my education and for a change of life,” she said. “It’s
an adventure.”
She had worked for the Ghanaian government
as a senior accountants assistant
with the comptroller’s office in the Accountants General Department
in Accra. But she said her credentials and experience were not recognized
in the United States, and she had to start over. This included getting
an associate’s degree in business administration from Piedmont Virginia
Community College before enrolling in the BIS program.
Her adventure will continue, she promises, as she weighs
her options, including becoming a certified public
accountant and
possibly attending
U.Va.’s
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.
“Life is good, and it is what you make of it,” she said. “If
you are determined to succeed, you will succeed.”
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