While at Rider, Kofi was active with the Midnight Run program (feeding New York's homeless) and served as a Rider Student Ambassador.
Why Kofi chose Rider
"I decided to go to Rider because I had attended a small boarding school with only 160 students in grades 7 to12. I didn鈥檛 want to go to a large school where I would have been just a number. Rider provided the personal attention that I was looking for in a school, while not being so small that I felt like I was in high school all over again,鈥 Kofi said. 鈥淎s a matter of fact, the majority of my professors knew me on a first-name basis and I was able to get the personalized attention that a bigger school could not offer."
They encouraged me to think big and believe that anything was possible as long as I set my mind to it.
Foreign聽Service Officer (Diplomat), scheduled to be stationed in S茫o Paulo, Brazil, U.S. Department of State
Rider's impact on Kofi's career
Some of the classes I completed at Rider were very instrumental in helping shape my worldview. I still recall great courses I took with Dr. Roberta Fiske-Rusciano, Dr. Kelly Noonan and the late Dr. David Rebovich.
The support and encouragement Kofi received from Queen Jones and Dana Lopes in Student Support Services provided him with added motivation. 鈥淭hey encouraged me to think big and believe that anything was possible as long as I set my mind to it,鈥 Kofi added. 鈥淲ith their encouragement, I applied for the Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship, which provided me with a full tuition-and-board scholarship for my undergraduate degree.鈥
Continued success
I鈥檝e been interested in international affairs since I was old enough to remember. After graduating college and working in finance for JPMorgan Chase for a few years, I applied for a competitive fellowship sponsored by the State Department,鈥 Kofi said. 鈥淭his was five years after I had graduated from Rider and yet, when I reached out to ask for assistance with interviewing techniques, Career Services set up several mock interviews to aid me in my preparation! I am convinced these mock interviews gave me the confidence to land the position, which launched my career in the Foreign Service.鈥 Kofi also enrolled at American University, where he earned a master鈥檚 degree in International Relations in 2010.
Giving back
No matter how busy he was at Rider, Kofi always found time to be a formal mentor to younger individuals. In addition, since leaving Rider he has volunteered with the Big Brother/Little Brother program, Meals on Wheels and the Urban League Young Professionals Program.