Junior Angela Adu-Boateng traveled to Ghana in the summer of 2022, setting up a mobile library and working with pre-K through sixth-graders as part of a Norton Fellowship from Loomis Chaffee.  

Angela wanted the students to read books and understand that education can expand their minds and their opportunities.  

Angela’s parents grew up in Ghana and then came to the United States to further their education and pursue careers. Many of their family members still live in Ghana, and Angela saw an opportunity to help further the education of children there.  

To make the trip possible, Angela applied for and received a Norton Fellowship, administered by the Norton Family Center for the Common Good at Loomis Chaffee. The process includes submitting a project proposal to the selection committee. 

To help prepare for the trip, Angela led a book drive last spring that was supported by students, faculty, and staff. She also received books donated by family friend Vangella Hazle Buchanan, owner of The Writery Ink in Bloomfield, Connecticut. So, when she arrived at Ebenezer Hill School in Ghana, she had many books in tow. 

“I felt I learned more from the students than they did from me,” Angela reflected. “The effort and hard work they put into everything they do because they are not as fortunate, you can feel it. You can also feel there's not the same pressure; they’re excited to go to school all the time. And in America, you’re feeling pressure because you need to get good grades to go to college. They're excited they can even go to school to have the opportunity to pursue whatever dream they have.” 

When Angela got back home from Ghana, it was not long before she embarked on another adventure, this one for months. She spent the fall semester in the Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki program in Wiscasset, Maine, which takes students out of the traditional classroom and into an experiential learning environment.  

“I wanted to try something different,” Angela said. “I love Loomis and have had a lot of opportunities here to try to help other people, but I wanted to discover who I was as an individual.”  

The experience certainly took her out of her comfort zone. She said she has always liked science but was not particularly passionate about environmental science.  

“And on top of that I am not an outdoorsy person,” she said, laughing. “I’d never gone camping, I’d never gone canoeing, never just been in the outdoors all the time.” 

Recalling her semester at Chewonski, her eyes lit up as if she were back on the Maine coast. 

“My favorite thing about Maine was the stars … there’s no pollution,” Angela said. “You can see the stars, all the constellations.” 

There also was that unforgettable backcountry trip along the Penobscot River. No personal technology was allowed. 

“It was so beautiful,” she said, “being in that environment where you are just so present with the people you are with. You make genuine connections because you are not hiding behind a screen, and you’re with the people 24-7. You see them at their most vulnerable moments because there are people like me who haven't done camping before, haven't been in the outdoors five days straight, and we have to support each other.” 

Angela is back at Loomis this semester. Part of the responsibility of a Norton Fellow is to bring a piece of the program to campus. Angela plans to connect Loomis students with the students she helped in Ghana, as pen pals. 

“I want those students to feel like they have a means of support, and that people are encouraging them to continue pursuing their passions and dreams,” Angela said. 

Just like she has. 

“Having had the experience in Ghana and the Maine Coast Semester program,” Angela said, “I feel like I have been able to find the balance between trying my best to advocate for others while still making sure to be my most genuine self and advocate for myself as well.”