The first female to be elected the President of the Students Representative Council (SRC) of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Fat Ali, has said that there were many times that she doubted herself.
She explained that while she already had a recurrent family trend staring her in the face, especially for women, she told herself that she would be different, but the journey towards that is what she didn’t how to surpass.
Speaking with the host of Say It Loud on GhanaWeb TV, Etsey Atisu, following her historic achievement, Fati said that even with a great passion for reading, when she took a bold step to buy university forms, it was not enough to give her hopes of making it to the university.
“I’ve always had this passion for reading but I wanted to read science when I went to high school. So, I pursued science, but in between classes, I’d still be reading, and I realized that this whole doctor thing may not be my thing, maybe journalism would be my forte.
“So, after school, I went to teach science and maths… even at that time, I still didn’t have any hope of going to the university. Yes, I knew that was not the story for me, but I didn’t know how to continue. One day, I just bought GIJ forms and I didn’t even know how to fill it; someone did for me, and after that, I didn’t think much of it till I had a call one day from GIJ that I had gained admission,” she said.
Fati Ali added that eventually, her brother, who believes in her, was the one who paid her fees and ensured she got comfortable to start school.
Watch the full interview on Say It Loud below: