Finding Home: GovState Alumni Experiences in Ghana

For over a decade, the coastal village of Ekumpoano, Ghana has been home for many members of our community at Governors State University (GovState). Each summer, alumni, students, staff, faculty and community members embark on a 10-day Public Health Brigade to serve the public health needs of the community while immersing themselves in its local culture and history.

This service-learning opportunity continues to draw brigaders year after year, not simply to repeat the experience, but to discover new opportunities for learning, service and growth. Ghana’s impact is unique to each brigader, along with their reasons for returning.

For GovState alumni, returning to Ghana also creates an opportunity to give back to the university community by sharing their experiences and leadership with the students who follow in their footsteps. GovState opened the door to Marquis Parks’ first international experience in Ghana. Now an alumnus and current graduate student, Parks reflects on the brigade as something he anticipates each summer.

He says, "Ghana has become a second home to me, and every time I return, I know there's another life I can positively impact. Each experience leaves me changed just as much as I hope I've changed others."

Parks is no stranger to service as a means of creating impact. Currently, he serves as a student member of the Governors State University Board of Trustees, a liaison between executive leaders and student voices. His experiences as a brigade leader in Ghana have strengthened his ability to lead through collaboration.

“Before traveling to Ghana, I saw service primarily as helping others by volunteering my time and skills,” he says. “I now understand that meaningful service is also about building

relationships, listening to the needs of the community, and working alongside people rather than simply trying to help them.”

Ghana has helped Parks develop a more intentional approach to leadership, one built on active listening and partnership, not just on what one side has to offer the other. What began as his first international experience as a student has become an opportunity to return and lead alongside the next generation of GovState participants.

Alexis Berry, a double GovState alumna and first-time brigader, experienced a culture shock when she arrived in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. As she encountered a culture different from her own, Berry began reflecting on the similarities and differences between life in Ghana and the United States.

"It's a completely different and more calm way of life ... in America, we are always rushing ... we are always stressed about certain things," she says, "... out there [in Ghana] ... there's so much joy."

Berry's experiences in Ghana remained with her long after returning home. She remembers the laughter of children who embraced her and the music whose rhythm seemed to reflect the energy of the community. Through those experiences, she found a sense of connection to a community that, despite differences in culture and upbringing, shared an important part of her history.

That shared history also brought greater awareness of the painful realities associated with the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which spanned more than 300 years.

"It filled me with deep sadness, but it also filled me with the desire to learn more ... I needed to know," Berry says. "The most impactful thing that I learned on the trip was the history of us."

For Berry, the experience deepened her connection to the African diaspora and demonstrated the value of learning through firsthand experience and shared reflection with members of the GovState community.

Berry credits her good friend, Jocelyn Bell, as a catalyst for her cultural exploration. Bell embarked on her third journey to Ghana this summer as a returning brigade leader and a 2026 GovState graduate.

She says, “I continued coming back because every experience gave me something new and helped me grow in a different way. It truly became one of the most meaningful parts of my GovState experience.”

Throughout her GovState experience, Bell has been inspired by leaders such as Dr. Nicole Bing, Chair of the Department of Communication Disorders. Now, as a brigade leader, Bell has the opportunity to guide student brigaders as they navigate their own experiences of self-discovery.

The relationships formed through the brigade have also strengthened Bell's connection to the broader GovState community.

“Sharing those experiences strengthened my relationships within the GovState community and gave us a bond that continued beyond the trip. Some of my favorite memories from Ghana are not only about the places we visited, but also the people I was able to experience them with.”

Each brigade has reinforced Bell's connection to Ghana and deepened her commitment to social responsibility. She carries that responsibility through both service and storytelling. As the first in her family to trace the footsteps of her ancestors, Bell continues to share the stories of those who can no longer share their own.

Inala Bruce-Rose, one of Bell's roommates, experienced her second brigade this summer, this time as a fellow brigade leader. Rose, a GovState alumna and current graduate student, came to Ghana with aspirations of helping underserved communities as a social entrepreneur.

This year, her leadership was challenged in a new way. The 2026 brigade leader cohort included participants from different generations and with varied experiences. Rose and the other leaders had to navigate those differences to collaborate in service.

“We gained a different respect for each other,” she says.

The experience strengthened Rose's confidence in her ability to lead the service-based organizations she plans to build in the future. It also reinforced the importance of understanding others and working collaboratively toward a common goal.

“This program is unlike any other,” she says, “This experience allows me to do what makes my heart grow, and that is service and understanding others.”

Rose's story is unique, but the connections reflected in her experience are shared by many participants in the Public Health Brigade. The brigade brings together students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members who enter the experience with different perspectives but return with a deeper understanding of service. The strength of GovState's Public Health Brigade to Ghana lies in the sense of community that develops as participants learn to serve alongside one another and build meaningful connections with the people of Ekumpoano.

The Public Health Brigade's impact continues with every new group of participants. As alumni return to lead and students take their first steps into the experience, the GovState community has an opportunity to build on the relationships, knowledge and commitment to service that have grown through more than a decade in Ghana.

Parks, Berry, Bell and Rose each carry the impact of their experiences in Ghana into their lives and communities. Their stories demonstrate how a GovState experience can continue to develop long after a student leaves the classroom, creating opportunities for alumni to lead, remain connected and contribute while helping current students shape their own journeys.

None of these experiences would be possible without the generous support of donors. Their support provides students and alumni with opportunities to serve, learn and lead together while strengthening GovState's relationship with the community of Ekumpoano.

This is where you enter GovState's journey, beyond reading about these experiences. Become a brigader, or partner with GovState to help this initiative and its home in Ekumpoano continue to grow.

To learn more about the Public Health Brigade to Ghana and other international experiences, visit the GovState Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs page.