During my final year in SHS, everyone was busy buying awaiting forms for different universities. I was no different, but I knew exactly which university I wanted to attend: KNUST. The real problem was not the school. It was the course.
I kept bouncing between engineering options like Mechanical, Civil, Marine, and Aerospace Engineering. On paper they all sounded respectable. In reality, I had no real clarity on what I wanted to do with my life.
Looking back, this is a common mistake many students make. Career guidance at the SHS level is very limited, and I nearly ended up on the wrong path. I was not very worried about passing WASSCE. Not because I was some genius, but because of the school and environment I found myself in.
When the results came, I did well. The next big decision was the course. A friend casually introduced me to Computer Science and Computer Engineering. I knew almost nothing about what either really meant, but I took a chance on Computer Science. Somehow, I got the admission.
That is how the chaos started.
My first year was chaotic. I was unmotivated, confused, and honestly knew almost nothing about the course I was studying. I missed classes often and got involved in distractions, thinking I could finesse my way through.
It did not work.
By the time I realized how bad it was, the year was almost gone. Emotionally, I was in a dark place. I did not put in effort to build a social life. Most of my friends had no idea what I was dealing with. This is the first time I am sharing this publicly.
I somehow passed first year, but with a trail. And I will be honest: I think I deserved that trail.
Second year was when things started to shift. I realized Computer Science was not just about lectures and exams. It was about skills. Real, practical skills.
I accepted that I might never be the top student in the class academically, but I could control one thing: my technical strength. I could become more capable than the average student around me.
That mindset was the beginning of my real journey.
I joined ALX's Software Engineering program and leaned into backend development. I explored different areas of software engineering until I was sure backend was what I wanted.
I did my research. I wrote down the kind of backend engineer I wanted to become, the tools and technologies I needed to learn, and the companies I wanted to work for. I treated it like a long term project.
Around this time, I also started building relationships with people who were on a similar path. People like Gideon Dakore and David Mensavi, among others. Most of my second year was spent in the library, not because it was glamorous, but because it was necessary.
At the time, I did not fully understand everything I was learning. Now I can see that nothing I studied was wasted. Every confusing concept and every failed attempt was quietly building a foundation.
Third year was when everything began to come together.
I started connecting with more people in the industry and building actual APIs, not just class assignments. One major influence at this stage was DeGreat (degreat.co.uk). I first saw him on Twitter, then later met him on campus.
He did not only teach me new technical things. He showed me what the field really looks like, what it takes to survive, and how to think long term. His guidance did a lot more than he probably realizes.
I joined Slightly Techie, and that community became a serious catalyst for my growth. My tutor, Frank Amoako (https://x.com/armoako), took me deeper into backend development with Node.js. I kept building APIs, asking questions, and disturbing senior developers on Twitter whenever I was stuck.
Just like second year, I lived in the library. People around me started noticing the change. They could see I was not the same person from first year.
Somewhere in all of this, I got the chance to intern with Amalitech and also enroll in the Certified Cloud Engineering Certification Program. I picked the certification path and passed the exam.
I also built strong friendships with people like Owuraku, Emmanuel Akomdo, Silas Kumi, Abraham Gyamfi, Jeremiah Anku, and others. We were all hungry, and we pushed each other.
By the end of third year, I was not just someone studying Computer Science. I was a backend engineer in training with real experience, real tools, and a clearer sense of direction.
Out of all my years in KNUST, final year was the one I enjoyed the most.
Technically, I had gained an edge. I also began to realize that being good at backend alone was not enough. I needed to understand cloud and DevOps as well if I wanted to build and run real systems end to end.
So in addition to school and projects, I enrolled in the Azubi Talent Mobility Cloud Engineering track. That forced me to think beyond writing APIs to things like infrastructure, deployments, and reliability.
Around this same time, I started working on Vendorlope (app.vendorlope.com) thanks to Jeffery Hinson, under the guidance of https://x.com/topboyasante. Together we built a solid platform.
Vendorlope stretched me. The deadlines were real, the expectations were high, and I had to deliver. Balancing that with final year project work and exams was not easy, but I pushed through.
Working closely with a frontend engineer, Izzy, also helped. It forced me to understand how backend decisions affect the full application, not just my part of it.
Along the way, I joined the Plendify team, an e commerce platform. That was my first time inheriting a large codebase. I almost gave up. But with the support system around me, we figured it out.
Plendify taught me what production really means. Payment systems, real customers, critical bugs, late night fixes. It was not theory anymore.
When it was time to apply for National Service, I was confident. I applied to only a few places Amalitech and WeWire and got offers from both. I chose Amalitech and I am still happy with that choice.
On the personal side, I found a family in my friends. The group we call "The Office" Akomdo, Bubune, Dickson, Jeffery, Michael, Fauz, and Angel made campus feel like home. We argued, laughed, stressed, and celebrated together. They were a big part of why final year felt special.
If you have read up to this point, you may have noticed something missing in this story: relationships with women.
That is not an editing mistake. It reflects something real.
Maintaining relationships with females has not been my strong area. It is something I am still working on, and it is one of the reasons you do not see those stories here. Maybe one day I will write about that part too. For now, I am keeping it honest.
I wrote this mainly for myself. To document where I started from, where I struggled, and what changed. To thank my mind and body for the pressure I put them through.
But I also wrote it for any SHS graduate or university student who feels lost.
Your university years are not the time to live carelessly and hope things sort themselves out later. There is a cost to that.
This is not a blueprint for a perfect university life. It is simply my story. If it helps you avoid one mistake or gives you the push to take yourself more seriously, then it has done its job.
Nothing you ever learn is useless. Not even the dumb things.