The Rising Star
Focused, determined, and ambitious are not enough words to describe Ama Frimpomaa Apea Bah, a CanU participant who is one of a kind and finishing her grade twelve year at Fort Richmond Collegiate.
The rising star came to Canada from Ghana with her family in November 2019 to join her dad, where she started her new life. Despite being the positive go-getter she is, Ama felt culture shock like many newcomers when she first moved to Canada in 2019.
“We had to learn a new way of life, more than just the cold now. We had to learn the culture, how to speak and act, and the way of life here. CanU helped with that.”
While settling into Canada, Ama heard about CanU from a friend and quickly found the community she was longing for. The now seventeen-year-old student found CanU at a point in her life where she felt lost and lacked a voice in what she wanted, but she knew she had a passion for doing something great. Starting CanU in 2021, Ama quickly became a student eager to learn, discover and pursue her interests, and more importantly, make a difference in this world.
Three years into her experience, Ama has become a face that many people will never forget. The Fort Richmond Collegiate student found more than just a place to build her skills and a judgement-free zone; she found her voice and purpose.
“CanU helped me adjust to Canadian life, get our voices heard, and tell our stories. They involved us in the community with volunteer opportunities, and now here I am, volunteering and telling my own story.”
Shaping Ama into the person she is
Looking back on her CanU experience thus far, she mentions five key areas that have helped Ama become the person she is today, three of which she has felt personally.
“There are five things that have helped me in CanU. Leadership, community, volunteering, mentorship, and the power of saying yes. The power of saying yes is the biggest one for me.”
As a shy student starting at CanU in 2021, Ama wasn’t sure what to expect. Over time, she learned more about what CanU does, and one thing stood out to her the most: the power of saying yes to opportunities. This power of saying yes wasn’t just about trying something new for Ama; it was a way to get out of her comfort zone to try new things, learn new opportunities, and do things she was scared of, like public speaking.
“The power of saying yes to things you fear got me over my fear of public speaking. CanU taught me the power of public speaking not just to big crowds but also to people older than me. I talked to over 200 people at CanU’s Inaugural Storytelling Gala, which gave me the confidence to say yes to more opportunities.”
The second area Ama reflects on is the increased leadership skills for her future medical career. “Leadership is part of the CanU values and shows in the programs. It teaches participants skills that all leaders need. For the grades 10-12 participants, like myself, you are now responsible for taking on new opportunities and saying yes to responsibilities and supporting others. Experiencing these opportunities gives participants the responsibility to show up, learn, and meet new people.”
As a popular face in the CanU community, Ama took her leadership role one step further, creating the Rise Plus Leadership Program within CanU. This team was created to help students in grades ten through twelve become more involved. Through planning activities, becoming program leaders, and giving feedback on activities currently taking place in CanU, students earn rewards for their experiences. It’s also through the Rise+ program that Ama created where she practiced her networking skills with the CEO of Community of Big Hearts, Salena Starling. The participants also got to meet the Mayor of Winnipeg at the State of the City Address hosted by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.
The final area Ama experienced personally is the impact of volunteerism in CanU. Participants can volunteer, meet new people, and lead a hand with junior CanU participants throughout various learning experiences. In Ama’s experience, she has not only found another area to learn different things when volunteering but also getting to know herself more. “When I volunteered with the junior leaders, I realized the impact I was making when they showed appreciation one week, and I came back because I wasn’t there the week before. They would hug me, tell me they missed me, and let me know how they are doing, which makes me feel appreciated.”
Becoming the first of many
As graduation nears, it’s only the beginning. The recent RBC Future Launch Scholarship for Black Youth recipient is the lone recipient for the province of Manitoba. As a black woman and recent immigrant to Canada, Ama is using this scholarship for more than just her education; she is using it to become a better professional for her future.
“I was surprised when I won because I applied for it without thinking too much of it. But now that I’ve won, I plan to use the money for my undergraduate studies and utilize the resources that this scholarship provides, which include access to things like LinkedIn learning, financial planning, networking, and other opportunities to help me get better.”
Ama has many doors open in the coming months between this recent scholarship, the building of future CanU programs, and preparing to go off to university.
The Future
With endless possibilities in her upcoming medicine career, Ama Frimpomaa Apea Bah is setting up herself up for success early as she graduates in June with hopes of attending either University of British Columbia or Queens University. The recent RBC scholarship recipient looks to specialize in pediatrics of cardiac surgery while becoming an advocate for foreign-trained health care workers within the Canadian health care system.
As she works towards these universities, Ama has started her work early with a recent research project titled, “Enhancing the integration of internationally trained health care professionals in Canada.” This project in collaboration with CanU Executive Director Roger Berrington, looks to help nurses, doctors, health care aids, and other healthcare professionals in making health care accessible for everyone. In starting her research now with interviews with some internationally trained nurses and an executive of the College of Registered Nurses Manitoba, Ama looks to use her research to help solve the issue of scarcity of healthcare workers and give recommendations on how to make this process of integration seamless.
Moving into her bright future ahead, Executive Director of CanU, Roger Barrington, expresses just how one of a kind, Ama Frimpomaa Apea Bah is,
“Ama has been a part of the CanU community since arriving in Canada several years ago and clearly stands out among the thousands of bright CanUers as a person with fierce determination, a curious mind, courage to affect positive change and an academic and service orientation and capacity that is truly extraordinary. She has been an inspiration to not only younger CanU participants but also to her peers. I can’t wait to see the full impact and good that Ama will bring to the world in whatever she chooses to do.”
Marissa Naylor – April 2024
