Leslie Owusu
I helped create the #DiversityIsOurStrength project, working on the Educational-Workshop (Lead), Wheat Paste, Editorial, Development, Scanning teams.
My Family History
Both of my parents were born in Ghana and have known each other since they were children. My mother moved to London to continue her nursing profession and my father came to the United States to pursue a teaching profession. They eventually relocated to Canada in the 90’s, where my older brother was born, then to Willimantic, Connecticut, where I was born, as my father was a professor at the University of Connecticut. In 1999/2000, my family moved to Iowa after my dad accepted a position at the University of Northern Iowa. My parents have remained within the same types of jobs. My dad is a professor and my mother is a nurse.
Living in Iowa
Iowan’s are known for being hard-working individuals, which is something that I consider myself to be. Growing up in Iowa, along with being born in a different region of the country and having family from outside of the US, also allows me to see things from a different perspective.
My Dreams
Realistically, I can be good at anything I put my mind to. Everything revolves around helping others so I think that I am a good team player, whether that is in athletics, which is something I think I thrive at, or a group project. If I am interested in a topic, there is no telling what the outcome will be! In the future, I would like to work in athletics in some capacity, as well as work with children if possible.
A Teacher Who Changed My Life
Marcey Hand, Science teacher, Cedar Falls High School (now at Waterloo East High School) She helped me through a few tough times while I was in high school. She actually cares for her students and what they go through outside of school; I’ve seen it on multiple occasions with myself and plenty of other students. Even as my friends and I all get older and go into the working world, Marcey Hand is still someone that we know we can talk to. She always has our back and will go out of her way to help us if possible, and that’s why we call her “Momma Hand.” Easily one of the nicest and most caring people I’ve ever met, I would take a bullet or ten for her!
My Favorite Thing
I wear these two pendants every day. One of them is a cross, which represents my faith and religion. My Faith is something I could always lean on when things are not going so well but especially when things are great. It reminds me to be thankful for all the opportunities I have been given in my life and how far I have made it through the ups and downs. The number ‘14’ is special to me because it represents all the things I’ve missed out on, put up with, and generally just the hard work I’ve done in my past to reach my childhood dream of playing college football -- then cutting out half of that journey (all the negativity and some mistakes made along the way) to help mold my future. At the end of that weird equation, the solution is ‘14’. It might not make sense to anyone else but it makes sense to me and that’s all that matters.
What #DIVERSITYISOURSTRENGTH means to me
It means bringing everyone together to progress in life and making sure all people are thriving mentally, physically, and emotionally. We all need each other. Everyone has different talents and skills and when it is all put together, so many great things can get done.
