Sharing Stories
Featured Alumni Interview
Dr. Julieta Mendes
Former Deputy Director, SOS Kinderdorf International
AAI AFGRAD Program Alumna
Transcript excerpts from the video:
15:15-16:06
“I grew up with this thing in my head of trying hard, working hard. Wow. So I worked so hard. The minister at the time Fidel Cabral Dalmada was so impressed. He said, if there isn't a scholarship for you, I will invent one, but you have to go and finish. So at that time, for me, age was not anything. So, I just got this scholarship again, and then it was AFGRAD. When we inquired here and there, they said “we’ll take her, she works hard.” So, I went. This time, they were the ones who picked the university. They sent me to UMass Amherst, and I studied there.”
17:04-17:45
“My advisor had fun with me, you know, he guided me. Dr. Eve [of] the Institute of Governmental Services … He was the one assigned to guide me through my AFGRAD. This is how he guided me. I did this comprehensive and passed, and I was allowed to pursue to do the doctorate.”
19:29-21:21
“I did this thesis - framework for educational reform in Guinea-Bissau, the choice of language of instruction. It was so dear to me that during the process of teaching in the high school … that sometimes if you don't use the mother language, kids don't understand what you are saying. That touched me a lot. So I was wondering, suppose education was in the language, in the mother language, we could have more. Because one of the thesis that is under development is [that] because we don't think in that language, our mother language. That's why we cannot transform our environment, and that linked to many other aspects. So I took that as my thesis. I'm happy. The only sorry I have, up till today it has not been translated. To really serve as a reflection, you know, because we keep insisting still in teaching in foreign language.
I graduated UMass [Amherst] in three years ... The support of AAI was strong. We were not typing our documents. We were not worried about school fees. That too, you stay focused on your studies and that's all they asked for. First staying focused, having a good GPA, be healthy, enjoy.”
Alumni Celebration
Tales from Nik Amarteifio’s 80th Anniversary Celebration
By Kwesi Amoak, AAI’s Director of Alumni Engagement & Storyteller in Residence
Nik Amarteifio (Uncle Nik), a distinguished alumnus and member of our board of trustees of the Africa-America Institute (AAI) turned 80 recently. And it was a blast. A spectacular birthday dinner held at the plush Marriot Hotel in Accra on Saturday 27 September 2025 with nearly 300 family members, friends, and business associates present and serenaded by interludes of live performances of Highlife and operatic songs, was majestic and nothing short of magical realism. Indeed, as described by H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor, the former president of Ghana and a dear friend of Nik, the night was “like watching an amazing movie unfold”.
The day started with a Thanksgiving Mass in the morning at the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral in Accra, culminating in the birthday dinner which among other things was a celebration of enduring friendships. Apart from a nearly 50-year friendship with President Kufuor, other lifelong friends who graced the occasion included Sir Sam Jonah, a mining magnate; Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse, a diplomat and chancellor of the University of Ghana; Madam Elisabeth Ohene, a former minister and Nik’s secondary school mate; Jim Ovia, founder of Zenith Bank and Nik’s mate at Harvard Business School during the early 1970s; and Ross Mullins, Nik’s roommate at Wesleyan University.
In 1966, Nik gained admission to Wesleyan University as a fellow of AAI’s ASPAU program. After completing a degree in Economics at Wesleyan, Nik attended the Harvard Business School obtaining an MBA in 1972. Following a stint of work in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Nik joined Nestlé, first in its New York office then to Ghana as its marketing manager. The fascinating lived experiences of Nik-from his formative years, through his years of college education in America during the Vietnam protests, to the businesses he has curated and owns across multiple industries- are contained on the pages of his memoir, Nik Amarteifio: A Life of Curating Business Ideas. The memoir was ghostwritten by Kwesi Amoak, AAI’s Director of Alumni Engagement & Storyteller In Residence was released during the birthday dinner and copies given to attendees as gift.
Commenting on the book Nik Amarteifio: A Life of Curating Business Ideas, AAI’s President & CEO Felicia Appenteng said,
“As both a Wesleyan alumna and the newly appointed President & CEO of the Africa-America Institute, I have long been shaped by Uncle Nik’s extraordinary mentorship. His singular blend of vision, creativity, and generosity places him in the rare company of true innovators. Few figures embody the spirit of entrepreneurial possibility as fully as he does. To capture such a life requires a storyteller of equal depth, and in Kwesi Amoak-who gift lies in rendering layered, multidimensional narratives-his story has found its ideal voice.”
Nik Amarteifio, AAI ASPAU Alumnus. Photos by Kofi Kuva Photography
A table for ASPAU & AFGRAD fellows
L-R: Marie (Nik’s wife), Nik, Maria (Ross’ wife), Ross Mullins & Kwesi Amoak