For Kwasi Osei-Kusi ’09, coming to St. Lawrence meant leaving his family and friends behind in Ghana. “Coming to SLU was a major step out of my comfort zone and while there were bound to be unpleasant challenges, this opportunity to live, interact and learn differently was one I thought was wise to seize,” he explains. “It would help me mature and develop a tolerance, appreciation and understanding of different cultures.”

Kwasi says a University Fellowship offered him one of the greatest opportunities he has had at St. Lawrence. Last summer, he researched why free markets in Ghana fail. The fellowship program provided him the opportunity to sharpen his research and communication skills. “I became involved with the fellowship program because as an economics major, I wondered why capitalism has brought prosperity to some nations but not others,” he says.

Kwasi is interested in financial economics and developmental economics. “My goal is to work in the financial markets after graduation,” he says. “A job with an investment bank will be most ideal.” Whether it is studying mathematics or French, playing ping-pong or squash, playing the drum with his friends or singing in the Gospel Choir, Kwasi is involved in many aspects of campus life. He concedes that his motivation and interests have been influenced by the support of his older brother, Kwabena ’05, currently pursuing an MBA at Harvard. “Our interests and education experiences have been strikingly similar,” says Kwasi, adding that he has been inspired by his brother’s positive impact on their friends and family and aspires to do the same.