Connected Forever
Highlights of the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship at the University of California, Davis
On Thursday, June 20th, 2024, all 24 Mandela Washington Fellows who were assigned to the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) met the institute staff for the first time. We were strangers, about to spend the next 6 weeks of our lives together and by the end of it, we had built bonds that seemed very difficult to move away from. The first point of note is that we were all on time! None of the African lateness was exhibited once in all our sessions for the next 6 weeks. If we can do it in California, why do we not do it at home? Well, learning to show up on time, at all times regardless of whatever excuse we may have, was one of the many wonderful things we were about to experience in Davis.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) is a flagship programme of the Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI), where young Africans between the ages of 25 - 35 undergo leadership training and professional development in the United States. Since its inception in 2014, 7,200 young Africans have participated in the fellowship with many involved in impactful projects across the globe.
The first of many group pictures
This cohort was the most diverse group of Mandela Washington Fellows to have ever been to UC Davis, representing 20 different African Countries. The course content at the leadership institute included the Common Leadership Curriculum (CLC), various presentations from industry experts on a variety of issues, community service activities, field trips and fellow-led sessions. But it was not all work, we had a couple of social activities to indulge in as a group. A bit of free time was also allocated for fellows to engage in their own individual interests.
Click on each pin to learn more about fellows who represented their respective countries at UC Davis
Week 1
Arrivals and Orientation
We all arrived at the Sacramento International Airport in California. I met Kelsey, the fellow from Nigeria at the Airport in Amsterdam and we travelled together in the same flight to Sacramento. UC Davis Institute Staff were present to transport us to Davis.
More arrivals at the Airport in Sacramento.
We were taken on a guided tour of the UC Davis campus by the Institute Staff and introduced to the story of the eggheads on campus. Seven eggheads are scattered around the UC Davis campus. It is an artistic representation of the learning, thinking and intellectualism required for academic success at UC Davis.
This egghead is facing up!
On the first day of our introduction to ignite talks session, the Leadership Manager for the fellowship at UC Davis, Oliver Hack projected this quote on the screen and asked everyone to memorize it all in 10 mins and then present it to the class. It was the challenge of the day!
Ignite talks are ted-talk style speeches between 3-5 mins that a fellow is encouraged to present about any topic of importance to them. This was one of few sessions on public speaking we had during the fellowship and they were all very impactful
We experienced the concept of Potluck in US culture for the first time at a welcome event organised by the International House in Davis. A Potluck is what a Ghanaian would call "bring and share". It was also an opportunity for fellows to connect with community members, learn more about US cultural norms and have fun. We engaged in a lot of dancing, singing and artwork as well.
Davis is known as the bike capital of the United States and in true UC Davis fashion, all fellows were given bikes, helmets and bike lights to aid with movement on campus.
I had not been on a bike for more than 2 decades but it was fun to reconnect with bike riding during the fellowship.
Week 2
This is when the fellowship really begun. Week 1 was all about introductions and week 2 ushered us into serious work. Fellows were introduced to the Common Leadership Curriculum (CLC), which is a key component of the fellowship programme. As a start we all took the Clifton Strengths Assessment Test to determine our top five (5) strengths. The guiding principle of the Clifton Strengths Assessment is to emphasize the importance of focusing on your strengths as a leader and developing them. My top 5 strengths were responsibility, discipline, learner, consistency and analytical.
We also had a few unstructured times for networking which gave me the opportunity to meet my focus project coach for our first session and catchup on outstanding tasks.
A panel discussion on citizen engagement and policy making involving key members of the Davis City Council leadership was held on Tuesday. Transparency, respect for citizen concerns and commitment to the principles of public service are some of the traits exhibited by the panelists in their roles as public servants which was inspiring.
A visit to the California Secretary of State's Office provided fellows the opportunity to Interact with the Secretary of state, Dr. Shirley Weber who is the first African American to assume that role. Key Departmental heads also engaged fellows on their work to gain a better understanding of the administration and coordination of responsibilities at the Secretary of State's Office.
One of the highlights of the week was the visit to the state capital where fellows were introduced on the Senate Floor and the House of Assembly. A presentation on the legislative process in the State of California was delivered after observing proceedings in the Senate. This helped me to better understand the work of federal states which is quite different from what we have in Ghana.
Fellows participated in a fun outdoor leadership training session during the second week which was titled "Follow the Leader". We begun by discussing the concept of Ubuntu in class and then engaged in multiple team building activities to test our understanding and challenges of leading, giving clear instruction, following and coordinating a team.
A welcome event was organised for fellows which provided the opportunity to network with staff and faculty at UC Davis. The event included traditional African drumming, music, dancing and Ethiopian cuisine.
Dr. Devotha Nyambo, a Mandela Washington Fellow from Tanzania delivered a wonderful vote of thanks on behalf of all fellows.
More smiles at the welcome event
Week 3
My highlight of this week was a session on an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) by Dr. Karen Beardsley, the Programme Director for the Mandela Washington Fellowship at UC Davis and a top GIS expert. Karen provided a general overview of GIS as a mapping tool and discussed examples of ways in which it can be applied in a variety of professions to aid decision making. We also participated in celebrations to mark the 248th Independence Day of the United States by attending a Potluck at Karen's house and witnessing fireworks at the Davis community park.
Diamond Suma, a fellow from Sierra Leone moderated a panel discussion on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The Speakers were Joanna Regulska, the Vice Provost and Dean of UC Davis and Linda Amrou, the Assistant Director of DEI.
A session on Design Thinking for Problem Solving was led by Alice Dien, a PhD student at UC Davis who is also a member of the UC Davis D-Lab. Fellows had to design a wallet to meet the needs of their clients at the end of the session.
On Independence day, fellows prepared Jollof rice and Ugali for the Potluck at Karen's house.
Nalumino enjoying the Ugali preparation process.
After lunch, Karen guided fellows to design plain shirts using the tie dye process. Other activities that was ongoing at the same time included swimming and playing games.
The results of the tie dye design work by some fellows.
Fellows beautifully displaying our new found interest in tie dye wears.
The first group of fellows volunteered with Davis Community Meals, which is an organisation that supports low income individuals with food. We cooked and served meals to community members who passed by to pick up the food. Others also played the piano to entertain guests.
Week 4
This week begun with ignite talk presentations by fellows and Kelsey from Nigeria was selected to represent UC Davis at the Summit in Washington D.C. Three other fellows which included myself, Nadia and Beauty were also selected to present our speeches during the Mandela Day celebration at International House the following week. We went on many site visits and had few classroom sessions. Professor Uwazie led a session on Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in Africa which was quite interesting.
One of my favourite quotes for the speeches came from Winnie, a fellow from Liberia who spoke about women in STEM fields. "My name is Winnie and I need to awake the Mandela in me". It wasn't just the words but the passion, conviction and belief that followed her utterance is what makes it memorable.
We went on a tour of the Tesla Factory at Fremont and witnessed the stages involved in assembling a Tesla vehicle. It was also a good opportunity to discuss the potential of electric vehicles and its setbacks, challenges involved in using an electric vehicle in most African Countries and California's ambitious goal of ensuring that 80% of all new vehicles sold in the state be electric by 2035.
A visit to Silicon Valley had to include a tour of the Google HQ at Mountain View. It was truly amazing to be within the space of a Company that has such a huge global impact.
The San Francisco Exploratorium has over 1000 participatory exhibits that allows visitors to experience complex principles of science, art and human perception. I enjoyed every moment of my time there and learnt about scientific concepts that I had previously not understood very much.
The sight of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is something I have seen many times in movies, and I finally got to experience it live. The bridge is an engineering marvel. Its symbolism, design and strength makes it one of the most iconic places on earth.
The first African American Chancellor of UC Davis, Gary May made time to engage fellows in a leadership session during the week. We discussed his transition from engineering to administration, obstacles he has had to overcome in his professional journey and youth leadership. He spoke about the work hard, play hard and pray hard philosophy that guides his life. Later that evening, a reception was held at the Chancellor's residence for Mandela Washington Fellows.
A visit to the California Independent Systems Operator (CAISO) enabled us to learn about the work that goes into electricity distribution in California, the share of renewables that make up the state's electricity consumption and strategies to achieve a carbon neutral energy source in California.
A second group of fellows volunteered at Davis Community Meals during the 4th week of the fellowship.
Week 5
Towards the end of the fellowship, everyone had started to feel the impact of the intensive nature of the programme. The visit to lake Tahoe was definitely a welcome distraction from all the learning over the last 4 weeks. It was also time to begin wrapping up our focus project plans with our coaches and checking back on our goals to make sure we were on track. Mandela Day was celebrated on July 18 to mark the birthday of Nelson Mandela. The major highlights of the classroom sessions included a presentation from Commissioner Siva Gunda on Energy Policy and Environmental Impact as well as discussions about water issues in California.
The week begun with a visit to the Davis Wastewater Treatment Plant. As someone with an environmental engineering background I enjoyed learning about the processes involved in treating municipal wastewater for the City of Davis and efforts being implemented to make their operations more sustainable.
The visit to Tahoe Environmental Research Center to learn all about the research and hard work that goes into protecting one of the world's cleanest lakes was fascinating, although I wish we had gotten more time there. Beyond the lake, the building itself is one of the most sustainable structures in the US. The type of building materials used, waste management, energy usage and many other factors were carefully considered in its construction to meet the strictest green building standards.
LAKE TAHOE IS BEAUTIFUL AND REALLY CLEAR!
On Mandela Day, fellows participated in a public grocery distribution activity with the Yolo County Food Bank that provided free food to individuals / families in need.
On Saturday, we had a hands on ArcGIS training by Karen and were given full access to ArcGIS online to use in our work, the result of which is this ArcGIS story map you are currently reading. Licensed access to ArcGIS Pro was something I have wanted for a very long time, and now I actually have it!
Week 6
The Last week of the fellowship at UC Davis before we travelled to Washington DC for the summit was the most difficult week. Saying goodbye is never easy but it is more difficult when we consider that we might all never meet again at the same place together in this manner. Many of the sessions focused on public health during the last week and Prof. Shingirai really got the class engaged during his presentation about politics and development in Africa with a focus on how mineral resources are managed.
UC Davis is home to the first ever coffee research center at a University in the United States. Fellows were taken on a tour of the coffee center to appreciate the research and work that goes into brewing one of the world's favourite beverages.
It was great to connect with some UC Davis Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni who are all involved in many wonderful initiatives in their Countries and at the global stage.
The most emotional moment yet. Its not goodbye guys, hopefully we will all meet again soon. As you know, Ghana is always the place to be in December!
The last group to lead all fellows through our final reflection and feedback session did a brilliant job. Marcia from Angola beautifully summed up how we all felt in a touching thank you message to the Institute Staff, the US Department of State and IREX for their dedication and commitment to the fellowship.
THANK YOU
Mandela Washington Fellowship UC Davis Institute Staff
During our first session with Oliver Hack he mentioned that we were like a family. They didn't choose us and we didn't choose them or each other. We all found ourselves through a process that we had no control over. And just like every family, we will have our ups and downs but what matters is that we stay together. So this is not the end, only the beginning of many more beautiful experiences to share together.
