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Message From Editorial Desk...

ear Readers, You have in your hand, The Crossroads, the maiden edition of CESA (Civil Engineering Students’ Association), KNUST official magazine. It is a great pleasure to see the first ever issue come to fruition. This magazine captures the momentous moments of the NatDave-led CESA administration and some of the tremendous feats that were accomplished throughout the academic year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. At the crossroads stood the elected CESA Executive Committee Members in February, 2020. That was a crucial point where a tough but critical decision had to be made to redefine the old narrative of student leadership; the decision that has placed CESA, the most vibrant students’ association of the biggest department in the College of Engineering, on a pedestal and has made it what it is today. I hope you get inspired as you flip through the pages. Happy reading!

Godfred Mintah Donkor (Editorial Board Chairman)

Contents 05 06 08 09

Executive Committee The executive committee comprises the elected officers that run the association

Executive Council

The executive council comprises the executive committee members,the various committees heads and their deputies and the various class reps.

Some Remarkable Achievements

Some remarkable accomplishments of the NatDave-Led CESA administration

President’s Report

Contains some highlights of the tremendous visions fulfilled, pioneering policies realised and a strategic course solidified in the course of the year

12 13 14 16 22

Mind Blowing Facts 10 civil engineering facts you probably didn’t know

The Ideal Woman Poem by Oladi Gabisi, YEAR 1

The Secrets of GRE

Hello guys, my name is K.K. AmpofoTwumasi. I entered KNUST in September 2015 and completed in July 2019.

Photo Gallery

From these pages you get to see the wonderful events that happend in the course of the year

Puzzle

A fun civil engineering puzzle

ExECUTIVE COMMITTEE

NATHAN DAVID OBENGAMOAKO (PRESIDENT)

DAMOAH EUGENE (VICE PRESIDENT)

YAA SARFOWAA ANTWI (GENERAL SECRETARY)

DERRICK OWUSU BEMPAH (FINANCIAL SECRETARY)

AYAMBILA EVANS ABUGRE (ORGANIZER)

JOHN YORKE (P.R.O.)

JEMIMA OPOKUA OBENG (WOMEN’S COMMISSIONER)

ExECUTIVE COuncil

ABDUL-KARIM MOHAMMED (ACADEMIC BOARD CHAIR)

SEYRAM AVEDZI (DEPUPY ACADEMIC BOARD CHAIR)

ANTHONY OPOLOT GODFRED MINTAH DONKOR (DEPUTY ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER) (EDITORIAL BOARD CHAIR)

MERCY KORKOR KWAO (JUDICIAL COMMITTEE

GARBA CHEFFOU MAIGA ABOUBACAR (INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS REP.)

BISMARK NANA KWAKU BONSU (ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER)

KEVIN WEDAM ADUUM (DEPUTY EDITORIAL BOARD CHAIR)

KWAME OHENE BUABENG MAAME EFUA ESSUMAN (DEPUTY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE (LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER)

EDEM GANAKU BENEDICT (SPORTS CHAIR)

KASSIM BUNDU NASURU (DEPUTY SPORTS COMMITTEE CHAIR)

OWEN ODUMANG (DEPUTY EDITORIAL BOARD CHAIR)

STELLA GLOVER-SIMMONS (DEPUTY WOMEN’S COMISSIONER)

JOSEPH BOAKYE (DEPUTY ACADEMIC BOARD CHAIR)

Class rEpS

BONSU MAGENBE ELIZABETH (CIVIL 1 CLASS REP.)

FENYI KWAKU FORSON (CIVIL 1 CLASS REP.)

ISSIFU ALI FREDRICK (CIVIL 1 CLASS REP.)

REGINA DADE (CIVIL 2 CLASS REP.)

KWADWO SIMPE GYAMFI (CIVIL 2 CLASS REP.)

NATASHA QUAYNOR (CIVIL 2 CLASS REP.)

BEATRICE BOAKYE (CIVIL 3 CLASS REP.)

COLLINS TWUM (CIVIL 4 CLASS REP.)

MICHAEL LARKAI (CIVIL 4 CLASS REP.)

President's report

espite this year’s varied and unprecedented challenges notable among them being the COVID19 pandemic which turned the university community askew by changing the conventional way of doing things such as placing restrictions on in-person gatherings, the 2020/21 CESA-KNUST administration under my leadership evidently achieved unimaginable heights. Rather than focusing on the restraints, we chose to be resilient and see this as an opportunity to make CESA great! Our administration has seen tremendous visions fulfilled, numerous pioneering policies realized and a strategic course solidified. At this moment, I can only pause, reflect on the trailblazing marks we have left throughout our journey, and express my heartfelt gratitude to all members of the Civil Engineering Students’ Association for the support since we were elected into office about a year and a half ago. Below are highlights of some key programmes and initiatives that were implemented. ACADEMICS Intensive software training on LinPro for static, modal and dynamic analyses of plane frames; ArcGIS for geographic data analysis and Autodesk Revit for building information modelling were organised to equip members of the association

with soft skills which are basic prerequisites for entry into typical civil engineering firms as young graduate engineers. The usage of these software, however, are not part of our curriculum and,therefore, are not taught in the classroom. Some volunteers from the academic board were in school to aid students prepare for their supplementary exams by providing them with relevant study materials and exams tips, and arranging extra classes to explain some topics to them. The academic board was always quick to organise tutorials for the students to supplement the work of lecturers and their teaching assistants. These tutorials gave the students a better understanding and an appreciation of their semester courses. Freshmen were assigned to senior course mates (mentors) as mentees, the principal responsibility of the mentors being the offer of academic assistance. Academic workshops were organised for students of the various year groups prior to the start of new semesters to give them an overview of the semester, what to expect, the kind of lecturers they’ll be meeting and how to make the best out of the semester. SEMINARS In collaboration with the 2003 graduating batch, Inspir(e)ING: “Come, ask a civil engineer, an interactive

mentorship chat space event” was organized on July 30, 2020. Among other educative seminars, an in-person “What Next After School” seminar that sought to provide direction to students on the pool of opportunities that are available to them after school was organised on August 5, 2021. It was a platform which helped students think outside the cliché box of employment or marriage after school and widen their horizon. Resource persons, including Dr. Jones Owusu Twumasi, were invited to groom students who have postgraduate school ambitions. JUDICIAL AFFAIRS The Judicial Committee organised webinars on basic constitutional knowledge to enhance better comprehension and interpretation of the CESA constitution, and generally any other constitution whatsoever. There were occasional discussions on pressing issues that needed addressing such as the nonexistence of the office of Women’s Commissioner in the constitution. For that matter, a review committee was set up to oversee the amendment of the constitution. WOMEN’S COMMISSION The office of the women’s commissioner spearheaded a good number of activities for the female members of the association to empower them psychologically, mental-

ly, socially and academically as they pursue a male-dominant programme. Some pragrammes that were organised include: Breast Cancer in Detail, a webinar which was aimed at creating breast cancer awareness and Scarred, an online talk about gender-based sexual violence. SPORTS Customised CESA jerseys were made available to the sports committee to use during football competitions. Experienced student coaches were appointed to train sports cohorts for competitions. FACULTY WEEK CELEBRATIONS During my administration, the maiden edition of the Faculty of Civil and Geo. Engineering Week Celebrations was organised. Some of the programmes include but are not limited to: Interdepartmental Quiz, Movie Night, Games and Socialisation. OTHERS A pull-up banner was procured for the association. This portable equipment will be used as a promotional tool and for identification purposes during CESA programmes and activities such as seminars, orientations, conferences, exhibitions and competitions. Moreover, a printer was procured for the association to run cost-free printing services for the members. CESA Polo shirts as well as CESA-customised exercise books were distributed among the members of the association

free of charge. Regular clean-up exercises were organised at the CESA lab to ensure that students who use the facility have a conducive environment in healthy conditions to study. All the faulty sockets and door knobs as well as the air conditioners at the CESA lab were repaired. We issued the maiden edition of The Crossroads, what has now become the official CESA magazine. Some donations were made to the King Jesus Orphanage Home at Boadi as a way of giving back to the society and instilling in the members the virtue of cheerful giving. Lastly, it is worthy to mention that the highest ever general meeting attendance since the inception of CESA was recorded during my administration. CONCLUSION Not all the sweet moments that transpired during my administration can be captured in this report. A lot of memories have been established in my head. My year of leading CESA has been the greatest honour of my stay in the premier department in the college. I have been privileged to lead the most populated departmental student association within the College of Engineering with my able co-executives. As I look ahead, I have great confidence and great excitement about CESA’s future. I want to thank you all for your cooperation and support during my presidency and I wish the Ashimatey-led administration the very best. With gratitude,

Obeng-Amoako Nathan David (Outgoing president, CESA)

THE SECRETS OF GRE H

K. K. AMPOFO-TWUMASI

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA, LAFAYETTE, U.S.A. M.S. IN CIVIL ENGINEERING (TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING)

ello guys, my name is K.K. AmpofoTwumasi. I entered KNUST in September 2015 and completed in July 2019. While at KNUST I studied BSc. Civil Engineering. I must say I learned a lot. Within a space of four years, I got to understand the basics of structural engineering, transportation engineering, environmental, and water resources engineering. Some of my favorite lecturers were Dr. Russell Afrifa, Dr. Eugene Appiah-Effah, Prof. Geophrey Anornu, and Prof. Y.A. Tuffour. Prior to completing KNUST, I decided to serve as a teaching assistant in the department for my National Service. More specifically I was T.A. for the structural engineering section of the department. I was highly motivated to start my graduate studies after the national service, so I enquired from some of the previous civil engineering students and teaching assistants about the whole process.

My journey: Right after I completed school, I requested my transcript from the student affairs office at the college of engineering. I also prepared my CV. I started searching online for schools that offered a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. Afterward, I made a list of some possible universities. I then went to the Civil Engineering Department website for the schools and looked at the profiles of some of the professors and their research interests. I did this to check if the professor and I had similar research interests. Once I identified professors whose research aligned with my interest, I then sent them an email expressing interest in joining their research group. With this, I emailed numerous professors, but I only got few positive responses. After the positive responses, I then applied to the schools. Whilst searching for professors and emailing them, I was also preparing to write GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Most schools in the US require the GRE and or TOEFL. The schools I received positive responses from required both, so I had to write all of them. The GRE is made up of three parts. The first is quantitative reasoning (math), verbal reasoning (English), and analytical writing (essay). The GRE requires more practice, that is solving more questions and familiarizing yourself with words and passages. The cost for registering for the exams might differ, but I paid $205 during my time. The TOEFL also has four sections. They include reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The TOEFL is basically a test to confirm how well you can understand, speak and write in English. The TOEFL also requires practice. I believe that once you have had all your education in English, TOEFL shouldn’t be a problem. The cost might have changed but I paid

$200 during my time. I think in Ghana, there are two places you can take both exams. There are centers in Kumasi and Accra. I know someone might read this and say then this process must be difficult. Yes, it is. But with the spirit of determination and perseverance, you can all achieve whatever your plans are. Life after National Service: I recently started my graduate studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the United States. I am pursuing a master’s degree in Civil engineering with a focus on transportation engineering. I am also a graduate research assistant at the Louisiana Transportation Research Center working on state-funded department of Transportation (DOT) research projects. Life in the US has been good. I came to the US during their winter season. Initially, I had challenges adjusting to the weather. At times the temperature could go as low as -2 degrees Celsius. I also had challenges with the food. Lafayette is mostly white populated so there was no African market I could purchase Ghanaian foodstuffs. In all, I have learned a lot and continue to learn new things every day. One thing I have been fascinated about since I came here is how well the Americans prioritize roadway safety. A lot of measures have been put in place to ensure that even if a crash occurs, its impact will be minimal. Apart from the US, there are numerous scholarship opportunities out there. For those who would like to stay in Ghana, there are some good scholarship opportunities in the civil engineering department. Also, there are scholarship opportunities all over the world, especially in Europe, Canada, and some of the Asian countries like China, Japan, and South Korea. All it takes is hard work, determination, and perseverance.

DoNATIoN To KING JESuS orpHANAGE HoME

FACULTY WEEK

GENERAL MEETING

TuTorIALS, SoFTWArE TrAINING, WorKSHopS

Cesa day

program fliers

puzzle

solved puzzle