Anastasiia Pliashko has been chosen to represent Gwinnett Technical College at the statewide EAGLE (Exceptional Adult Georgian in Literacy Education) Leadership Institute in March 2024. The Leadership Institute recognizes and honors students with superior achievement in adult education classes and programs.
Anastasiia’s story certainly exemplifies all that the EAGLE program is about. A resident of Cumming, Anastasiia, first came to the United States in August of 2022 from Ukraine. She enrolled in Gwinnett Tech’s HSE (High School Equivalency) program to earn her GED. After completing her HSE, Anastasiia intends to pursue her associate degree in business management.
Anastasiia chose Gwinnett Tech and the HSE program because “I always wanted to be educated and smart, and this educational journey helped me to start my life again. My relatives here helped me with enrollment, and I chose Gwinnett Tech for several reasons. First, my aunt recommended it; secondly, I read a lot about it and loved it! I could choose between online and in-person classes and make my schedule.”
Ghana native finds life at GGC rewarding
It’s a long way from the coastal savannas and tropical rainforests of West Africa to the manicured lawns of the Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) campus. Still, it’s a journey that Diana Bamfo was determined to take. Bamfo’s family immigrated from Ghana to the United States. when she was 12. Her father, Evans Kwakye, a truck driver, and her adopted mother, Lulu Pearl, a nurse, taught her to be self-sufficient and resilient.
Bamfo
After graduating from Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, in 2015, Bamfo worked as a grocery store cashier for a year to save enough money to put herself through college. She’d been fascinated with math from an early age, so she always knew she would be doing something in that field.
“I’ve always been a numbers girl,” she says. “I believed I would do really well in accounting, so that’s what I set my sights on.”
When choosing a college, she turned to her best friend, Harsha Vinoy, who had been attending GGC and studying business management. Vinoy introduced Bamfo to other GGC students, and that made the decision easy.
Bamfo enrolled in 2017 and threw herself into getting to know her fellow students and professors, overcoming her usual tendency to be shy and introverted. Two of the things she did were join the International Student Admissions (ISA) group and the School of Business Torch Team Ambassadors Program, which forced her to work with fellow international and business students outside her comfort zone.
“The ISA opened the doors for me to get to know other students from outside the country and open my networking,” says Bamfo. “And from day one, the Torch Team helped me get to know professors, students and local business owners. I would recommend any new student get involved like that. I know professors whom I never thought I would get to know personally. Sometimes, I’ll be walking across campus and hear one of them call my name, ‘Hey, how are you? How is school going? How is life? Is there anything I can do for you?’ It’s very encouraging.”
She said the Torch Team, particularly, helped her get to where she is today, about to walk across the stage to receive a diploma for a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting.
“My most cherished memory at GGC is being part of the SBA Torch Team,” she adds. “We have such great team members. Everybody was so encouraging and welcoming, and whenever I was having a hard time, there was always somebody I could talk to. It’s the best group I’ve ever been a part of in my life.”
Bamfo recalled how her adviser, Dr. Benjamin Akins, associate professor of legal studies and taxation, and Ben Hines, program engagement specialist, would consistently check in with her to see how her studies were going and how she was feeling.
Bamfo will be the first child in her family to earn a college degree. After graduation, she plans to work as an accountant for a few years and save money for graduate school, where she plans to earn a master’s degree in accounting.
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