Ebenezer Amponsah-Danso had worked in the banking industry for six years before he decided it wasn’t a perfect fit. He moved from Ghana to Rolla, Missouri, to pursue a master’s degree in a program that focused on the aspects of work that he hadn’t previously been able to enjoy due to organizational issues and lapses. He believes happiness in the workplace is key to productivity and plans to continue that theme throughout his career.

“I want everyone to always feel safe at work,” he says. “We spend a lot of our time at work, so it should be a place we all feel happy and comfortable. That is a gateway to productivity and maximizing potential at work.”

Planning for the future

Now a master’s degree student in industrial-organizational psychology, he has his eyes already set on one day earning a Ph.D.

“I was looking at Missouri S&T after seeing the Forbes listing, and my wife, who was then a master’s student in technical communication, encouraged me to attend,” says Amponsah-Danso. “She loves S&T, Rolla and the local area.”

These days it’s hard to find a bigger proponent of furthering education than Amponsah-Danso – especially furthering that education in Missouri S&T’s psychological science department.

“I know that it is the best department in the whole school,” says Amponsah-Danso. “The faculty are so easy to approach and talk with – everyone is my favorite professor! But I am blessed to have Dr. Clair Kueny (chair and associate professor of psychological science) as my advisor. She inspires me and always gives me hope.”

A lifelong learner

Amponsah-Danso says he is a major champion of lifelong learning, and he believes it’s important to continually learn both in and outside of the classroom.

“I love to learn how to cook new foods,” says Amponsah-Danso. “My mother taught me how to cook, and now I make everything – salads, jollof rice, barbecue and koose, a fried black-eyed pea cake.”

He also says his wife inspired him to learn to cut hair.

“I couldn’t find a barber shop in Rolla that I was totally satisfied with, so I started learning to cut my own hair,” he says. “I used to cut friends’ hair back in my school days, so I am glad to know I can do it for myself, too.”

Continuing to serve others

Amponsah-Danso says serving others – and playing the piano – are his “happy places.” He shares his love of cooking with the community as a volunteer with the Rolla Mission and also finds peace working for a non-governmental organization he supports in Ghana.  

Amponsah-Danso hopes to take that attitude into the field someday soon, as he looks at career roles in talent management, approaches that promote employee well-being and ethical human resource practices.