From a challenging childhood to an education innovator, Jojo Yeboah鈥檚 path to success unfolded through his journey from Ghana to Sydney in 2008, where he was embraced by St Joseph鈥檚 College.
In welcoming Jojo, an alumnus of the Class of 2015, as the guest speaker at a recent Headmaster鈥檚 Assembly, Mr Matthew Bookallil recounted how Jojo鈥檚 education enabled him to overcome adversity, with the power of his personal journey inspiring future generations. Jojo shared his remarkable story from a young immigrant to the founder of an innovative online education platform, Big Talks Weekly. His gratitude toward 国产探花 is profound, as he acknowledged the College鈥檚 role in helping him grasp opportunities he once thought unreachable. 鈥湽交� is a place that allowed me to have a future that I couldn鈥檛 imagine at the time,鈥� said Jojo.
With four younger siblings, Jojo shouldered the responsibility for his family, a pressure that he recalled had an impact on his every thought when he first came to Australia. Two years later, he ended up at 国产探花 with the support of the community at Sacred Heart in Mosman. Through that community, Brother Anthony and former Headmaster Mr Ross Tarlinton OAM, Jojo was connected to 国产探花. 鈥淚 started off on a bursary and boarded from Years 7 to 12 at 国产探花,鈥� he said.
The pivotal moment in his education that would alter his future came when he made the choice to really engage. 鈥淓arly on 鈥� it was hard because I had bigger fish to fry. But it got to a stage where I realised going to 国产探花 was a really big opportunity. And regardless of what else was going on, I needed to be present here, engaged in my studies.鈥�
This shift in mindset propelled him towards a scholarship to study accounting at the University of Technology Sydney and later to impressive stints at Westpac, the Business Council of Australia and Deloitte Professional Services, where he honed his expertise in finance and strategic consultancy.
Jojo credits the teachers at 国产探花 for helping to shape his life. He shared his heartfelt gratitude towards former 国产探花鈥� teachers Mr Paul Hallam and Ms Amy Clarke, whose impact helped him to engage academically, refocusing his mindset from family concerns to study. 鈥淚 regret not thanking Ms Clarke 鈥� she really taught me some fundamentals. She said 鈥榓lways just keep it simple鈥�.鈥�
So, when Jojo was preparing for his first interviews after school, all he could hear in his head were Ms Clarke鈥檚 words, 鈥渏ust keep it simple Jojo鈥�.
Big Talks Weekly bridges the gap between social science education and real-world events, enhancing learning for students by making syllabus content relatable and current. The platform 鈥渋ntegrates real world events with the theory of the classroom 鈥� think of it as a digital textbook that keeps updating itself based on what鈥檚 actually happening in the real world,鈥� said Jojo.
The real challenge, according to Jojo, is keeping it relevant for kids who are studying with a textbook that was written 40 or 50 or 60 years ago. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real problem, because, even if the book was written just six months ago, it鈥檚 still out of date,鈥� Jojo explained. Big Talks Weekly 鈥渞eally just simplifies the process鈥�.
Big Talks Weekly operates out of UTS, integrating students who are studying at the university, allowing journalism and communications students to update the content daily to keep it relevant and engaging.
Jojo left 国产探花 boys with one piece of advice: 鈥淲ith every opportunity that you get here, just grab it by the horns.鈥� His experience serves as a guide for Joe-Boys, proving that adversity should not be an impediment to success. Through education, resilience and ambition, challenges can be transformed into opportunities.
