gsts.net: So tell us Ashitey, what are you doing now (occupation wise)?
AT: I am Member of Engineering Staff, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California , USA.

gsts.net: I'm impressed. Boy, I bet it involved lots of studying, hardwork, etc., right?
AT: It sure did! 3 years to read BEng (Hons) Aeronautical Engineering at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, U.K., another 3 years to get a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from, Cranfield University in the United Kingdom. 21/2 years as a Research Scholar at Carnegie Mellon University, Institute For Complex Engineered Systems, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

gsts.net: Very interesting. Let me pry a lil bit; have you got your own family yet?
AT: Fortunately or unfortunately, I am not married.

gsts.net: Well as I suggested to another Sectechan, should that status change, don't forget to emails us with the good news so we can all be happy for you. You would, right? Riiight! Ok, let's go back in time a lil bit if that's ok with you. My question is this; why GSTS? I mean why did you choose GSTS and not any of the other schools for your secondary education?
AT: I guess the truth is that I personally did not choose GSTS. You know I went to Garrison Primary School in Burma Camp and like all my classmates we all wanted to go to the two well know secondary schools in Accra. But my Dad’s friend recommended GSTS as the best secondary school in Ghana and West-Africa for pre-college engineering education. Therefore, my parents thought it best to send me to GSTS since I wanted to be an engineer. It is that simple, so here I am, need I say more. Like they say, the rest is history.

gsts.net: You did not regret it, did you?
AT: Surely, no regrets. GSTS gave me an almost perfect preparation for my current profession..

gsts.net: I wonder how many people get to say this about their school. Hmm... anyway. Now moving on, what year were you admitted into the school; were you there for O'Levels, A'Levels or both?
AT: I am a true Sectechan, 7 years of Tadi, (both O and A-levels)

gsts.net: Well, I'm not going to ask you whether you held any office or not because as a full Sectechan, you would at least be put in charge of something. Tell us all about it.
AT: I was very fortunate to hold all the highest positions with respect to form at Ritchie House (house One), House Prefect, Sixth Form, Senior Monitor, form five, Food Monitor, form four, and Garden Monitor form three.

gsts.net: You sure did enjoy every minute on campus then, didn't you?
AT: It would be dishonest of me to say I enjoyed every minute of my stay at GSTS. The truth is, my first year was shear hell. I found the environment and culture quite alien. You have to bear in mind that I was an eleven-year-old boy who has never been away from home. I have always had the trust and protection of my parents and all of a sudden, I find my self without that comfort or protection. My world was literally turned upside down almost traumatic to say the least. The staff really tried to make the first few hours on campus pleasant but the first night was hell. The seniors made sure of that. Anyway, I some how managed to survive the first and second years. In the third year I started to appreciate some of the aspects of the culture at GSTS and become a convert of "Obey before you complain" rule. Nevertheless, I strongly despised other aspects of the GSTS culture such as the bullying which I personnel fought throughout my senior years.

gsts.net: Interesting. Still looking at life on campus, what would you say was your best moments at school?
AT: Do you have all day? I think mostly sports like inter-houses, football, athletics and inter-colleges competitions. Oh and when late Pastor Apeke was preaching on Sunday, I hope I got the spelling correct. He was from Assembles of God Church in Takoradi, he usually packs the assemble hall to over flowing.

gsts.net: And which ones would you say were your worst?
AT: I think I would have to say my first year at GSTS.

gsts.net: I'm sure every Sectechan would identify with those first two years. Looking back during my time, I laugh at some of the things I had to go through but they weren't so funny then, you know? Anyhow, let's focus very briefly on the school. What would you say were some of its great moments during your time?
AT: I think winning the inter-colleges athletic competition in 1985. You know GSTS had won all the inter-colleges since 1972 or so. Therefore, we did not want to loose it on our watch so it weighed quite heavily on the sixth form class of 1985. Pulling that off was quite a great relief for us especially the sport prefects who happen to be good friends of mine.

gsts.net: Now do you remember any of the seniors who made your life "hell" when you were on campus?
AT: I cannot remember any names or rather I refuse to give names. I would prefer to focus on the good guys, the thoughtful ones. I am quite disappointed with the question; I think Sectechans need to know the students that help build a positive reputation for the school rather than those who wanted to cause havoc.

gsts.net: Point well taken. But as I said, this interview is all about remembering some of the good and bad times on campus. I'll, in the future, remember to ask Old boys to mention some of the seniors who played positive roles in their lives on campus. Now to the tutor/member of staff/etc., did you have any favourites?
AT: Sure, since I was one of the smallest and youngest in my year, 1978. I had a lot of the tutors looking out for me especially the ladies, like Ms Blay a B.K. teacher, Mrs Hammond, form one math. There was another lady teacher from Cape Coast University who taught us history in form three. She was really good and made me really like history, I think her name was Miss Fiajoh, or something like that. Also, Miss Archer a literature teacher in form three was quite good and a friend. Vim or Mr. Ofori was a good friend and quite a good math teacher.

gsts.net: Were you a Day student or Border?
AT: I was a border..

gsts.net: During your time on campus, what house would say was full of "bad boys"?
AT: You know, it changes with the years. I would have to say house five, I guess.

gsts.net: Well if you should know, house five is now called "Katanga Hall" by the present students. So during your junior years, what house did you avoid because of the seniors there?
AT: I think I avoided going to house five and four in my first year. So I guess they had a bit of notoriety.

gsts.net: So in summary, how would you describe your time on campus?
AT: I think, at GSTS I developed both my physical and spiritual mind. The excellent staff fed my mind and the brilliant and strong Scripture Union fed my soul. Not many people have had such a privilege. It was a blessing, I learnt the principles of hard work, discipline, selflessness, teamwork, civic duty and above all true Christian fellowship from S.U. I was fortunate to play tennis, table tennis and captain the school hockey team to a zone championship in 1985. Need I say more, GSTS was simply a blessing! It complimented my parents guidance at home brilliantly.

gsts.net: Nice one! Boy I couldn't have said it any better. Have you got any personal achievements to date that you'd like all Sectechans to know about?
AT: Before answering that, I will like to say this, what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his own soul, that would be tragic. The next NASA Mars Mission in 2003 would fly two rovers (mobile robots) based on a research rover called FIDO. I have been privileged to be part of the team that developed FIDO. Hopefully, if all goes well in 2003 I would have played a small part in the success of the mission. It has been quite a journey from GSTS to NASA.

gsts.net: It sure has! And I don't think I'd ever dispute that. How about a few words of encouragement for all Sectechans out there?
AT: What can I say? Do not let the vicissitudes of life kill your dreams. You have had an excellent education both physically and spiritually. Go out into the world and do good with it and bless others as you have been blessed. I do not think that is too much to ask or is it?

gsts.net: Personally? Naa, I don't think it is. It's just about right. Well as always, we've got our lil bros. on campus following this interview. Got any advice for them?
AT: There are no short cuts to success. There is no substitute for hard work. On the path to a successfully life there are obstacles, (please note I am not saying there may be obstacles but you are guaranteed obstacles). However, if you keep your eyes off your goal you will find these obstacles. Therefore, please keep your eyes on your goal and these obstacles will never distract you. In addition, remember with Christ all things are possible according to his will and his will is for you to be the best that you can be.

gsts.net: Tell me, Ashitey, are you in constant communication with any of your classmates?
AT: I do keep in contact with a fair number of classmates. Of course, it would nice to hear from more but that is life.

gsts.net: Do you have any classmates you'd like to say hi to?
AT: I will like to say hi to Emmanuel Akon, Thomas Hayford, Aquaye (cobra), Godwyll (Boombee), George Ofori, and Ritche House form five class of 1983 and all Sectechans out there. God Bless you.

gsts.net: And now to my favourite question; what do you think of The GSTSnetwork?
AT: I think it is an excellent idea, very well put together. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful Webmaster and all the other selfless volunteers who out of love and appreciation for the great GSTS have developed this site. This goes a long way to show some of the excellent virtues of a GSTS education.

gsts.net: It sure does, Ashitey. It sure does and I'm certain all of us, in one way or the other, can bear testimony to that. Let's look at the future for second. How is it looking right now; being a single man, lots of experience, have a greeat job and all?
AT: I know that with Christ, my future is secure and that is more than good enough for me. On a professional level, I would just take one step at a time. In my line of business that is research and development, one simply needs to work hard and keep developing new algorithms and technologies that would be useful for future Space missions. Therefore, I guess just hard work and making the most of any opportunities that come my way. After all opportunities knock but once, that is if you have a door, lol.

gsts.net: That's so true, lolol!!! Wow! Tell you what, it sure has been nice and a pleasure talking. If I were to summarize our chat today in a few words, it would be: you can do it! To all Sectechans out there who haven't made it yet, I say there's hope for the future. Keep building on the foundation that was set during your time on campus. Well Ashitey, thank you so much for today and we hope we can do this again soon. From all of us at gsts.net, we wish you all the best in your endeavours.
AT: Thank you too.