The managing partner of Africa Legal Associates (ALA), Nana Adjoa Hackman, has charged the 2023 graduating law class of the University of Ghana (UG) School of Law to confront challenges as part of the layers on the staircase to success.
“Aspire to greater heights; but do not let that vision blind you to the duties and obligations of your current status. Remember that you cannot fly without wings, and wings are grown, not made;”
She asked them to keep in mind that they “can’t fly without wings,” and that “wings are grown, not made”.
“Graduands, with a qualification in law, the world is your oyster, and it will be up to you to make your meal of it. And so, the 2023 graduating class of law students of the University of Ghana, my personal charge to you is this: Strive for excellence in all things.
Nana Adjoa Hackman stated in her speech to the graduating class as special guest speaker at the 2023 congregation ceremony of the University of Ghana School of Law held at the Great Hall on Saturday 19 August 2023.
World of possibilities
The renowned lawyer in her statement also charged the graduands to “maintain a positive mindset” and know that they “are not [their] failings [nor their] achievements”.
Sharing her personal journey of how she has grown wings in her profession as a lawyer of 20-years standing at the bar, she rehearsed her career journey and her how her experiences has helped her to grow her “flying wings”
“Over the period, I worked first in private legal practise with an active corporate and commercial law firm, I then joined the public sector and worked for the state, fighting crime.
“From there I made a strategic move with Ghana’s discovery of oil in 2007 and pursued an LLM in petroleum law and policy, becoming one of the first Ghanaian lawyers to specialize in the field after our country’s newfound resource.
“In 2009, I started a career in the legal aspects of banking and corporate governance, a career I held onto, until a few months after I co-founded my law firm, Africa Legal Associates in 2015, bringing me right back where it all began in 2003, a corporate and commercial private legal practise” Ms Hackman said.
“Earlier this year, I graduated with an MBA, after two years of studies to make me a better manager of my law firm and a better lawyer for my corporate clients. Over the period, I have been challenged, I have faced scepticism, cynicism, prejudice, disappointment, and self-doubt, but I have also experienced kindness, empathy, honesty and integrity and humankind at its best.
“Through it all, I continue to learn, and I continue to grow. I can say without a doubt that one of the best lessons I have learnt has been to put aside my vulnerabilities and take control of my own journey, and not leave it to others to define me.
“The decision to come out of my own previously comfortable shell unlocked for me, a whole chain of events, and catapulted me to heights that have been at times dizzying.
“It all made sense recently, when I discovered a quote by a Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, which reads: “There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming” said added.
Ancient Roman philosopher
Ending her admonishing to the 2023 graduating class, Nana Adjoa Hackman, called on the graduands to “keep in mind the words of the ancient Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca; “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”.
“My own version, which may not sound as elegant as Seneca’s, my dear friends, is that on your journey, people may open doors for you, but you have to walk in yourself, and make your presence felt, to be invited to sit at the table and dine; that will be all up to you” she said.
This will keep you grounded, while grinding and continuously achieving. Build yourselves up, don’t shy away from trying new things. It will ensure that you are prepared to take on opportunities when they do come up. Finally, stay consistent, keep on improving and performing. We are not perfect, in fact, we never will be, but don’t ever let that stop you. Instead, let dignity, honesty and integrity be your guide” she told the graduands.
