"It can be done. Hard work pays off. The dream is not impossible."
- Caroline Yirenkyi-Leake, UMUC Graduate Student
MS in nonprofit management
BS in business and Prior Learning student
MyUMUC Story:
From West Africa to the United States, UMUC Student Caroline Yirenkyi-Leake is Staying Focused and Giving Back
By: Julie S. Epstein
Caroline Yirenkyi-Leake has called on her focus and determination many times. At the age of ten she moved from Senchi, Newtown in West Africa to the United States, where she faced the challenges of overcoming the language barrier and acclimating to the difference in culture.
After graduating high school she took classes at a trade school and began working as a temporary employee within the federal government.
When her work offered to pay for courses at a local community college, Yirenkyi-Leake jumped at the chance. Encouraged by an advisor, she decided to pursue her bachelor's degree. She chose UMUC's convenient undergraduate business administration program.
When it came time to transfer her credits to UMUC, Yirenkyi-Leake learned that the trade school she attended—and all of her credits—no longer existed. She would need to start from the beginning.
To make up part of her lost credits quickly, Yirenkyi-Leake enrolled in UMUC's Prior Learning program to earn 24 credits in one semester. "It was encouraging to see that all of my hard work on the job could result in receiving credits," Yirenkyi-Leake said of receiving college credit by documenting her on-the-job experience.
She then took time off from her studies for maternity leave, but returned a year later. She found it important to set an example for her newborn son and future children.
"I had to finish it for my son," she said. "I can remember nights when my husband and I were up with the baby, had to work in the morning, and go to school in the evenings. It was not easy, but I needed to stay determined in completing this goal."
After much perseverance and commitment, she graduated with a BS in business in May 2003. Yirenkyi-Leake credits her determination to her faith in God, quoting a favorite Bible verse from Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
"It was empowering to know that all things are possible," she said of her journey to a bachelor's degree. "I worked hard to balance school, family, and work demands simultaneously. There are a lot of distractions along the way, but one must be determined to remain strong."
Fueled by her academic success and her interest in giving back to her community, Yirenkyi-Leake enrolled in the nonprofit management track in UMUC's MS in management program. Utilizing what she learned at UMUC, she was able to obtain an administrative officer position and her current program analyst position. She graduates in May 2007.
Her plans for the future are many. In addition to raising her family and growing her home-based technology business, Yirenkyi-Leake has started a library project in her childhood hometown in Ghana.
"As a girl who came from Senchi, Newtown in West Africa, Ghana to Silver Spring, MD," she said of her journey, "I am here to say: It can be done.
Hard work pays off. The dream is not impossible."
