Photo of Jacob A. Osae

The Higher Education Engagement and Transformation (HEET) Community of Practice (CoP) focuses on engaging the international higher education community to advance higher education and youth learning priorities and strengthening the link between positive youth development and higher education programming through applying a systems approach.

The HEET CoP is publishing these Member Spotlights to showcase the members.

This spotlight, curated and edited by Akorfa Dawson, is on Jacob A. Osae, an alum of University of Ghana.

How would you describe yourself? How would your friends describe you?

I am an optimistic, tenacious and empathic human. I have a strong motivation for advancing in my career. I enjoy contributing to team effort, creating a good working environment, being a good listener, and above all accepting constructive criticisms.

What are your hobbies?

My hobbies are mostly writing and reading.

What did you want to be when you grew up? What were your aspirations?

I wanted to be like my Dad, an engineer, that was my passion and aspiration.

What did you study? How did your course of studies align with your aspirations?

At the University, though I applied to study engineering, I was given pure physics, math and computer science to study. Though it was not what I hoped for, I was able to pursue the course as I developed passion for it as time went on.

What is your current occupation? Do you like it?

Currently, I am a high school physics instructor and a science fiction and fantasy author. I love education and writing since they all have one main vision of impacting the lives of the younger generation.

What services did your university offer that influenced your trajectory? How?why?

The University of Ghana Careers and Counselling Centre offered us yearly career weeks that enlightened us about the job prospects of the courses we were pursuing, and how we can be suitable and eligible for such job opportunities.

What university services were the most helpful to you in your trajectory?

As a STEM student back in school, seminars and conferences about STEM careers and occupations both local and international were very helpful to me in carving a career path for my life after school. 

What recommendations would you have for students and universities in helping with your academic and professional trajectory?

For students I would say, it pays to attend seminars, conferences, career fairs and expos in one's field of study. It gives the student information about job prospects and what one can do with his life after graduating from school. And to the Universities, these programs are needful for students in every way and at every level of their education. Because by attending these programs, they are able to make the right choice of choosing which career to pursue and carving the right career path for their life.

If you could rewind time, with all your experience and knowledge now, what message would you have for yourself when you started university?

I would say, I wish I was more diligent with my academic work and did more internships during vacation to gather a lot of job experiences for the job market and also, I would have attended many career fairs and job seminars and conferences regularly.

Join the Higher Education Engagement and Transformation Community of Practice here.

Instructions: How to join a CoP and how to engage with its members

Connect with YP2LE on social media at 

Discuss

Your name