Class of 2021: As he combines passions for sports, law, politics and business, Andy Mensah remembers his roots – VCU News

By Dina Weinstein

Andy Mensah has made his mark on the Virginia Commonwealth University soccer field, boardroom and state capitol building.

An energetic and tireless player on the field for the VCU men’s soccer team, Mensah also worked hard on his bachelor’s degree off the field. He will finish his business administration studies with a minor in political science from the VCU School of Business this month and is aiming for a law degree one day.

Mensah describes it as a unique, structured experience that requires a lot of perseverance.

“They have different standards than students who don’t play sports, who don’t represent the university, duties like waking up early, going to bed late, making sure you’re coping with your classes and at the same time balancing your social life,” said Mensah. “The most important thing is discipline. That’s my favorite word that I use to live my life. ”

The hours of practice, play, and travel he devoted to football enabled him to make friends from all over the world, including Japan, Jamaica, Norway, France, Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, and Brazil. Mensah has made a name for himself as a student athlete in other ways too: He joined the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Sports Department.

“We live in a very networked world and the ability to understand one another, to understand where we all come from, is essential, not just for our success as individuals, but [the] Country as a whole, ”said Mensah.

Andy Mensah on the pitch. (Courtesy VCU Athletics)

Academic success

Mensah’s accomplishments and relentless approach have been influenced by numerous hardships he has faced. He was born the son of Ghanaian immigrants in Italy, where he lived until he was 6 years old. When he was 7 years old, the family moved to the United States because of legal issues with their immigration status. Soon after, Mensah’s parents faced legal difficulties again, this time regarding their immigration status in the United States, and had to return to Ghana. At the age of 11, Mensah, who remained in America, was an orphan and he spent years living with the instability of the apartment until he was adopted by his current family when he was a freshman in high school.

“All of my upbringing, from being born in Italy to orphaned in the United States, has cemented my desire to one day pursue a doctorate in law so that I can be a voice for my community,” said Mensah.

These life changing experiences led Mensah to take seriously and exceed their academic and athletic commitments. He started out as a political science major at VCU but switched to a minor and eventually settled on a business major that he hopes will one day help him run a small business. His hard work has paid off, helping him get his photo on a “4.0 wall” in the athletics department, which is the culmination of his academic career at VCU.

“As a student athlete, one of the things we compete for is reaching the 4.0 wall, which means that you are the epitome of the student athlete, you are the best at your sport, and you are the best in the classroom. You maximized everything, “said Mensah.

Mensah’s favorite course at the VCU was “Perspective from the C-Suite”. Mensah, an invitation-only class held in the spring for top economics students, was nominated by a professor and had to go through an application and application process to be accepted. The students heard from a variety of local and national business leaders.

“This course gave me the confidence to break through every glass ceiling I face in life and [realize] Any achievement I achieve in life is worthless unless I reach back and uplift others with me, ”said Mensah.

Mensah fights for possession during the VCU’s fall game against the University of North Carolina. (Courtesy VCU Athletics)

Overcoming difficulties in order to help others

Like all student athletes, Mensah experienced ups and downs on the field. The 23-year-old’s stellar VCU soccer memory stems from two games last summer when the Rams beat Wake Forest University, the No. 6 in the country, and then the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the No. 4 team in the Country, the same weekend.

Another significant outside of football experience for Mensah came when he was at the Del. Lamont Bagby internship offered by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

“The internship focused on financially strengthening the Richmond community, particularly minority-owned companies, mergers and credit unions,” said Mensah. “I learned what Virginia credit unions are and how we can make a positive impact on minority-owned businesses in the Richmond area.”

The internship with Bagby, chairman of the Virginia Black Legislative Caucus, helped Mensah land internships as a legislative advisor with Fairfax County and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority last summer.

“I researched green energy initiatives that the county was interested in and ways to upgrade impoverished neighborhoods in the county,” said Mensah. “At the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, my primary role was researching reports on minority-owned businesses and writing reports on how the group was able to allocate resources to help them.”

Any achievement I achieve in life is worthless unless I reach back and pick others up with myself.

Andy canteen

Mensah enjoyed the chance to help the residents of Fairfax County, which he believes has the infrastructure to be the east coast of Silicon Valley. The district has over 1 million inhabitants. It is one of the richest counties in the country, and its annual budget is larger than many states.

“I wanted to work firsthand with influential leaders in my field,” said Mensah. “I grew up in an area of ​​Fairfax County where we are overlooked and judged for not having as many resources as more affluent parts of the county, but my classmates stood out despite these opinions of ours.

“Ultimately, my motivation for Fairfax County was that I wanted to reach out and help the communities I came from, and being able to do so in one of the most influential counties in America was the icing on the cake.”

In addition to owning a small business and studying law, Mensah is also keen to run for office one day.

“My philosophy in life was to reach back when climbing,” he said. “As a first generation college graduate who was an orphan, I exceeded all odds. Now I believe that it is my duty to fall back and lift others too. ”

Subscribe to VCU news

Subscribe to VCU News at newsletter.vcu.edu and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event announcements in your inbox.

https://news.vcu.edu/article/2021/12/as-he-combines-passions-for-sports-law-politics-and-business-andy-mensah-remembers-his-roots