Introducing Ghana Scholars Associate Patrick Kelly

Hey Everybody! My name is Patrick and I am among the new crop of newbies that landed in Accra last week. Since my arrival, it has been a whirlwind of Akwaaba's (welcomes), Twi (the local language) training, and tro-tro (city busses) rides. Now that I've learned the basic Twi and the layout of my new city of Kumasi, and got the friendly initiation into Expo, I am ready to get started. As a native of the Boston-area and an African politics junkie, I'm wicked excited to be here in Ghana working for Exponential Education!

I am here as the organization's first Ghana Scholars Program Associate, a newly created role primarily designed to mentor and support our student-tutors both current and former. Additionally I will be helping out with our Expo Tutoring Center, or the college advising side of the organization. In a way, you can think of me as an African Guidance Councilor.

Previously, I attended and graduated from NYU with a degree in politics and a focus on international politics and human rights. In the time after school, I was waiting tables, volunteering with an NGO called SustainUS and taking some time to go backpacking.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, here are some fun facts about me!

- I can quote almost every episode of Arrested Development and Archer

- I am essentially a human atlas (this comes in handy when watching Jeopardy!)

- I was once on a stranded boat for over 24 hours

- I've been a huge New England Patriots fan since the pre-Brady era

- Teddy Roosevelt is my source of inspiration

#staff