Kafui Dey, a revered Master of Ceremony and public speaker, believes grades and first class honours are overrated.
To him, excellent grades or first class honours do not guarantee success in the real world.
Kafui Dey who was speaking at the 5th Edition of the What I Wish I Knew (WIWIK) Conference, said that while in the University he wished he knew “grades are overrated, [and] getting a first class is really overrated.”
“You come to the real world and employers want to know what you can do or what you have done in the past. Networking is something I would have done a bit more, linking up with people and developing relationships,” he added.
Kafui Dey also was quick to add that although grades are overrated, students must still take their studies seriously.
What I Wish I Knew (WIWIK), is an annual advisory forum and was held on Friday March 1, 2019 at the University of Cape Coast.
The 5th edition of the conference was under the theme “Emerging to the Fore” and saw scores of undergraduate students’ throng into the University of Cape Coast Auditorium 900 to take part in the event.
The conference started off with a presentation by Ibukun Janet Ogundipe (Country HR Manager, Maersk Ghana) who inspired the audience with her life story having transitioned from a Theatre Art student to an HR Business partner and now the Country HR Manager for Maersk Ghana with supervisory roles in Togo.
She challenged the students that they can become whatever they wanted to be irrespective of what they are studying in the University.
After her presentation, Kafui Dey, shared his life journey with the participants.
He admitted that the widely watched TV Game Show “Who Wants To be Rich?” was a career defining moment for him and he is still remembered for this show which was aired as far back as 2009.
He further encouraged the participants that in their bid to emerge, they will face oppositions and rejections but there is the need for them to keep their focus.
He said “There have been rejections and I will never get tired of saying this and that TV3 was happy to reject me when they came to town for the first time. They were looking for presenters and I applied. They did not call me back after the interview. However, it was all part of the learning process which has brought me to where I am today.”
Undoubtedly, this was the dose of motivation a lot of the students in the auditorium needed.
It was then followed with a colloquium on the theme “Emerging to the Fore” with 3 thematic Areas; Leadership, Creativity and Digitization.
The panel featured Kafui Dey, CEO of Dey Marketing Ventures, Ibukun Janet Ogundipe the Country HR, Maersk Ghana & Togo, Olusegun Akinkugbe, a John Maxwell Certified Trainer – UK and Isaac Hubert Arthur (Executive Director, Africa Centre for International Trade and Development.
The discussion was moderated by the Host and Convener of WIWIK, Bernard Kwame Tawiah.
The panel discussion also presented participants with the opportunity to pose questions and get answers from the guest speakers.
Delivering the keynote address, Petra Aba Asamoah (Chartered Marketer and Author) shared her experience with the audience having transitioned from a front line sales role to an executive level of strategy in sales.
She said “ To emerge to the fore, you have to find your voice. Finding your voice – means being confident about what you know, what you can do and the solutions you can provide. A lot of us, including myself grew up in families where we felt if we are good at something we will be deemed to be ‘too known’ or ‘some way’. So we sometimes feel it’s better to play small. Reduce our shine so other people can feel comfortable.”
Touching on leadership she said “if I have learnt anything about leadership in my personal journey, it is that self-leadership is critical to you becoming your best. Self-leadership has to do with you deciding on your values, your principles and sticking to them. It is the discipline to get up and get going even when you do not feel like it”.
The Stirling performance of the Adisadel College Band made the evening worth remembering as they entertained the participants with some melodious tunes throughout the event.
Marking the 5th anniversary, Bernard Kwame Tawiah, Convener of the WIWIK conference further reinforced the commitment of the Apice (Apex) Human Consult to invest the next decade raising individuals and equipping them to be the best version of themselves.
He also informed the participants about the WIWIK Alumni meetings, the soon to be aired WIWIK Series, ACE Hub geared towards empowering WIWIK Alumni in the areas of Academia, Corporate mentorship and Entrepreneurship.
He also expressed his appreciation to the 2019 partners which included ACCA, Jobberman, Google Digital Skills, Wineloya Advertising and the CEO of Order events; Jonathan Ayertey.
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Source: WIWIK
