Ampofo Darko '04

Hometown: Kumasi, Ghana
Major: Chemistry
Concentrations: Mathematics for the Sciences, Environmental Studies

 

"'You're only as good as what you did yesterday.' I did not truly understand that until I came to Guilford."

Ampofo Darko believes in the power of family. It's what brought him to Guilford, and it's also what he has found here as a student and varsity soccer player.

Darko and his older brother, Kwame Darko '02, first came to the United States from Kumasi, Ghana, in 1991 when their mother was working on her doctorate at Brown University. The family decided the brothers should continue their education in the U.S., so they went to Quaker boarding schools in Barnesville, Ohio, and Sandy Spring, Md. Darko decided to follow his brother to college and enrolled at Guilford during Kwame's senior year.

"The rest of my family is still in Ghana, and I try to keep that close contact with my brother since we are the only ones here," he said. "I was overwhelmed by how I was embraced by the community. Even as a visitor I felt really welcome. The atmosphere was so friendly that I thought this would be a good place to study."

Darko's mother, father and younger sister alternate yearly visits to the United States. "I don't have that immediate family support that most students have," he said. "I 've made lots of friendships. My main support came from the camaraderie between my soccer teammates."

Another source of support has been Darko 's professors. "I feel like I can talk to them about anything," the chemistry major said. "The professor/student relationship isn't really realized until you're in  the classroom. Out of the classroom they 're just another friend that you have.These relationships have only fed my interest in chemistry. I hope to go to either become an industrial chemist or a pharmacist. Looking back, I realize that the breadth of the Guilford curriculum has made me a versatile student. "

"But the most valuable thing I have learned at Guilford is to voice your opinions. Your voice can make a difference in the decisions that are made. The best advice I can give someone just starting out at Guilford is simply that life at Guilford is what you make it. Take the opportunity to get involved."