We are delighted to present an insightful conversation with Ms. Abigail Nakuor Wowolo, the distinguished valedictorian of the University of Ghana School of Law for the year 2023. With a remarkable FGPA of 3.72, Ms. Wowolo has embarked on a captivating journey of academic excellence and personal growth. In this engaging interview, she candidly shares her experiences, challenges, and motivations, offering valuable insights for aspiring law students. Her story serves as an inspiring testament to the power of perseverance, passion, and the pursuit of holistic development.

Enjoy the read! 

Question: Congratulations on your achievement! You are the valedictorian! How has your journey been so far? How did you get here? What motivated you to pursue law?
 

Thank you very much. Yes, I am! Can you imagine? 

Hmm. As I mentioned in my speech, “The journey has been long…” Really, I would say it has been a rollercoaster of so many activities, emotions and scenes. The road has been a little bumpy, but the joy of being surrounded by supportive family and friends especially has made it more bearable. God has really been good to me and to my class. 

How did I get here? First, I would say my pillow has felt my frustration than any human has. *laughs*. Indeed, I can never undermine God’s role in my journey. There were times when I was this close to not studying a particular topic for exams but ended up being prompted to do so, and then I got to the exam hall and realized I would have been in hot soup had I not studied them. This and so many other events have made me appreciate how much God has helped me on this journey. So yes, I got here first by the help of God.

I would also acknowledge the role of my seniors and mentors like Vanessa Zormelo, Seth Doe, Nicole Macauley and others, who were very instrumental in directing me on how to survive in law school. Again, I am grateful to my family for their support and encouragement throughout this journey. 

Now, what motivated me to pursue law? First, in all honesty I never wanted to read Law. I always was a lover of the English Language and wanted to study that as a full course at the university. However, prior to coming to school, I decided to choose law as my first course of study because I thought it was an act of killing two birds with one stone. How so? Studying law requires that you have a strong English background and hence, that would also encourage me to ensure my English was good. Reading law was therefore not a bad option to me at the time because I still got to benefit from my love for English. So no, unlike most of my classmates who had a genuine passion for the law and particularly advocacy, I was that one looking for a course to read and hoping to succeed in it.

Nevertheless, I began to develop a genuine interest in the law as time went on. The cases, books, articles, etc. made sense sometimes. The success of my lecturers in their various fields was just so inspiring. My point is, the question is not really about what motivated me to pursue law, but more of what influenced my decision to continue reading the law even after starting off on a neutral note.