When Stars Align: Adama Mohaman’s Open Dreams Journey to Princeton

Open Dreams
Jul 31
3 min read

Updated: Aug 2

Some chapters at Open Dreams are beautifully written, and then there are those that are extraordinarily written. The story of Adama Mohaman is one of them.

*Mentor Joyce Forkou, Adama and her Family*

With roots from the Northern Region of Cameroon, Adama Mohaman distinguished herself by scoring a perfect 33/33 points at the GCE Ordinary Level while studying at St. Benedict Mvolyé - this year she wrote the GCE Advanced Level at the same institution and is currently awaiting the results.

With quiet determination and a heart fully open to growth, Adama embraced the Open Dreams yearly long Scholar Mentorship program with unwavering commitment, nicely balancing her engagements with Open Dreams and her high school, St. Benedict.

While preparing for the GCE Advanced Level, Adama and her fellow St. Benedict peers, all members of Open Dreams, could be found weekly at the Open Dreams Center in Obili, Yaoundé, working as a tight-knit team, strategically focused on their shared goals.

Adama immersed herself in project-based learning programs, including those run by Skolarr, TiC and DeWise Energy Transition Fellowship, where she took on leadership roles and inspired those around her. So, she wasn't just showing up but also leading. Her journey unfolded under the close supervision of her mentor, Joyce Forku, an exceptional TechGirl alum and Program Facilitator known for masterfully guiding hackathons at Open Dreams. Joyce, who also had so many other important engagements would show up at the Open Dreams center and dedicate hours, at the quite Open Dreams Plaza, engaging with Adama even late into the evenings, ensuring that she was constantly on tract and steadily navigating towards the goal post.

*Adama's mother speaks to the Open Dreams Family in Yaoundé at a farewell ceremony*

Adama’s college application journey was filled with its own kind of drama — from lights out during critical moments to poor internet on tight deadlines — but she persevered by rallying community support, rising above each challenge with grace and grit. Open Dreams Graduate Mentor Executive, Nteta Philip, took control of one such crazy moments at the Open Dreams Center, when Adama thought she had lost it all when internet connectivity speed was down to a zero for a prolonged period of time during the college application season, during which we experienced some of our greatest challenges, until the parents of some scholars intervened with an extra-ordinary high speed connection installation to speed up our work at Open Dreams Yaoundé.

Today, we fast-forward to the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Adama got admitted to the prestigious Princeton University in New Jersey, USA and she has landed in the USA. She becomes the second Open Dreams Scholar ever, and the first female from Open Dreams, to be accepted into Princeton.

*Adama, Cristina and Sophia at the Washington Dulles Airport, VA, USA*

Upon arrival at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virgina, USA, she was warmly welcomed by the top class of Open Dreams, Cristina Kullberg, Open Dreams Co-founder, the loving Mother of the Open Dreams family, and her family.

Adama is one of 30+ Open Dreams Scholars who are US-bound. When they received their ambitious admission officers with much excited, little did they know that the F1-visa application process was going to be suspended for weeks. When that happened, it was like we had hit the stone wall, especially when days were passing without any comforting updates. But here we are today, shouting "Eureka" - we had a breakthrough, we made it, against all odds!