Orphelia Ellogne

Joined ALA in 2009

My name is Amah Orphelia Carenne Ellogne. I am an 18 year old Ivorian girl, raised in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote D’Ivoire. My twin sister and I are the last born of a family of three children. We grew up with our mother who put independence, respect and hard work at the forefront of our education. These three core values motivate me to find appropriate ways to overcome any challenges I encounter.

As a result of this, I gained the respect of my teachers by being the top in my classes throughout my stay in school. I believe that it was this confidence in my abilities which persuaded my mathematics teacher that ALA was the right place for me. When he nominated me and then encouraged me to apply, I did so because of the opportunities to take courses such as economics and psychology which were not offered in my former school, to meet exceptional students all over the continent

Leaving my comfort zone to attend African Leadership Academy was a difficult decision but a rewarding one. Indeed, at ALA, I learnt to use the lessons drawn from my failures to improve, to better understand the consequences of crucial decisions and to create a balance between social and academic life. I am proud to have served as the Resources Manager of my Community Service Project: Grow Green Itsuseng, a member of the Spanish Club and a leader of the translation committee of the Franch’Afrique Club which helped in organizing the inaugural class’ graduation.

I now know that I love Statistics and Economics for they require deep thinking and critical analysis and because their principles can be applied in different fields.  I am currently studying at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

My long-term plan is to return to Cote d’Ivoire and in collaboration with some of my ALA peers who also share the same dream, I hope to realize my childhood dream of building an orphanage in my country, thus, fulfilling my commitment to my continent, which is to catalyze its positive change by offering appropriate education to street children as well as the underprivileged in my society.