First Lady Honoured With Doctorate Degree

Dr Naadu Mills in a pose with the President of Goodwin College, Prof. Mark Sceinbery.First Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, has been honoured with a doctorate degree by the Goodwin College in Connecticut, United States of America (USA), for her contribution towards girl-child education in Ghana.

She was also commended for initiating a project; “The Foundation for Child Education, Ghana”, as a way of influencing policy makers to ensure every child in Ghana was educated.

Dr Naadu Mills was given the recognition at the college’s colourful and well attended 2011 graduation ceremony in Connecticut.

The first lady was accompanied to the ceremony by Ghana’s Representative at the United Nations, Ambassador Ken Kanda, the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Mr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, the President of the Ghana Telecom University, Dr Osei Darkwa, and Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum.

Receiving the award, Dr Naadu Mills lauded the Goodwin College for the honour done her and said the award would serve as a morale booster that would continue to influence policy makers in respect of the education of girls and children.

She was also grateful to President John Evans Atta Mills for remaining a motivating pillar behind her success, and was happy that the president was poised to improve infrastructure at the lower levels of education.

The President of the Goodwin College, Mr Mark Sceinberg, lauded the first lady for joining other noble women in Ghana to champion the rights of females, a move, he was convinced, could address underdevelopment.

He was happy that Ghana was in the process of deepening its democratic experiments, and urged other African countries to embrace democracy and protect human rights.

Dr Naadu Mills pursued a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Psychology at the University of Ghana and later earned a Master of Philosophy in Sociology in Deviant Behaviour and Control.

She is also a trained teacher and nutritionist, imparting knowledge throughout her adult life.

In 2009, she launched the government’s free school uniform programme to provide over 1.6 million uniforms to pupils in over 77 deprived communities across the country, amplifying her commitment to influence policies on education to benefit the poor.

Later on the sidelines, the first lady fraternised with the Ghanaian community in Connecticut to encourage them to live above reproach and be exemplary in all their endeavours.

Ghanaian residents in Connecticut turned out in their numbers to witness the historic ceremony to decorate the first lady with the doctorate degree.