Lance Corporal Lancelot Allotey was selected as the University of Ghana's March 2023 valedictorian of the Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Arts programs.
Prior to pulling off the achievement, he had to get beyond challenges like financial hardships and his father's death that followed.
Lancelot had to balance his academic studies with being a police officer, a husband, and a father.
Lance Corporal Lancelot Allotey yearned to serve his country as an officer in the Ghana Armed Forces from an early age, but life had other plans for him.
He had long since decided he would carry on the family tradition of service members who spent the majority of their lives defending the country and its citizens.
The son of a military commander and a native of Sempe of James Town in Ghana's Greater Accra Region, the Allotey grew up in a home where his father enforced rigorous rules.
He acknowledges how his upbringing at home by his parents affected him and ultimately paved the way for his career as an officer in the Ghana Police Service. He would go on to win the University of Ghana's March 2023 convocation as the valedictorian of the Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Arts programs.
Early education and financial struggles of Lancelot
St. Jude's Nursery School in Mamprobi, where he completed his preschool education, was the beginning of his inspirational but difficult path. At New Universal Academy, Lancelot completed lower and upper nursery through class six before moving on to Korle-Gonno 4 Junior High School (JHS) to continue his education.
According to him, his father paid for his early education with the help of his mother, as reported by YEN.com.gh.
''I come from an average family, financially; my father was a military officer, and my mother was a trader. Our living conditions were quite difficult due to my dad's ill health and after he retired from active service,'' he recalled
Lancelot balances his JHS education with selling for his mom
Lancelot had to balance his JHS coursework with selling alongside his mother in order to provide for the family.
''I had to get up between 3:30 and 4 am every Monday to go to the market and buy bunches of bananas for my mom to sell every day before I went to school. I was always late for school on Mondays,'' he told YEN.com.gh.
Although Lancelot was loved and supported by his parents, who cared about his education, academic challenges prevented him from finishing his degree. He remembers going to school in the dark from his first to third years of JHS since his house had been cut off from the electrical grid because of outstanding bills.
''We shared our metre with people who refused to pay the bills. The expenses became so much; we used post-paid then, so they disconnected us. But I managed to complete JHS in 2007.''
On the plus side, Lancelot discovered his musical talent in JHS when he began performing with the marching band's seniors. After JHS, he studied the piano as he awaited the results of his BECE.
Lancelot life in senior high school and worsened financial struggles
He made his way to Presbyterian Senior High Technical School with determination to pursue general arts. Lancelot and his family faced further hardships as a result of their father's retirement from the military and subsequent passing in 2009; the family's financial status was already precarious at the time.
"I had to go to SHS after my father's retirement. I am the last of four children. Imagine the difficulty."
''We experienced extreme difficulties; I recall attending boarding school without provisions in my first year. But, I was more concerned about the admission fees. The real struggle started when my father passed in my second year in 2009,'' he said.
Before his father passed away from illness, Lancelot recounts how his mother attended a parent-teacher association (PTA) meeting without anything to provide.
''I didn't question why because I knew the situation at home. My mother informed us that my father had been sick for about a year, making life difficult. She informed me that she was on her way from the hospital and would visit my father after spending some time with me.''
Lancelot struggled to pay his tuition during his third year and was once fired on a rainy day. Although the headmaster had instructed that anyone who arrived with only half of the fees be let to stay, he returned with the remaining balance. When his housemaster gave him money for transportation and food so he could go home, things went well for him.
''When I came home, things were still difficult. I had to help my mom sell bananas during the day, and I went to sell kenkey in the evening. I did that for some weeks to raise money for the fees. My siblings also supported,'' he told YEN.com.gh.
Despite the challenges, he claims to YEN.com.gh that they had no impact on his performance since he found new ways to learn by teaching others what he had learned and getting up early to study. He emphasized, "It didn't affect me in terms of my academics."
When he finally graduated from senior high school, he taught music as a volunteer to both adults and mostly kids. Lancelot tried to enlist in the military in 2013, a year after finishing SHS, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
''2014, I applied to the police, was enlisted, and passed out in 2015. I was stationed in the Volta Region but was transferred to Accra on June 4, 2015.''
Lancelot strives to further his education
Lancelot was a voracious learner who overcame challenges to pursue his university music studies, which had been a childhood goal. He studied at the University of Ghana, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music and was named the program's overall valedictorian.
''I married in my second year in the university. I had to balance my work with raising my kids and studies. But my wife was very supportive; I give her credit,'' he told YEN.com.gh.
The proud father of two boys attributes his success and ability to overcome the many obstacles life threw at him to God.
"Always stay humble, respect humanity, and keep your eyes on God,'' he said.
Lancelot wants to finish his master's degree and start working on his PhD soon after. Congratulations on your successes despite major obstacles.
A Ghanasco alumna is the UDS School of Engineering's valedictorian.
Regarding education, YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Abdul Rahman Lansah, a former student of Ghana Senior High School (Ghanasco), won the School of Engineering valedictorian award at the University for Development Studies (UDS).
Lansah started her academic career at the Kobilmagu Sobriya Islamic School and ended her studies at the Ghanaian institution with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.89.
According to UDS, the young graduate's path to a degree was difficult because of financial restrictions.
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