Spotlight on Eunice Linah Tachie-Menson
Eunice Linah Tachie-Menson, one of our PRIME incoming PhD students this Fall 2025
semester, was born and raised in Teshie, a coastal town in the Greater Accra Region
of Ghana, known for its popular Labadi beach and vibrant fishing community. Her parents
were originally from Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana but had moved to Greater
Accra for their professions. Of her childhood, she said, “my parents and I would occasionally
visit my maternal grandmother and uncles in Cape Coast. One memorable visit was when
my grandmother took us to the crocodile park at Hans Cottage.”
She was brought up in a Ga community, but as a Fante, she learned the Ga language in school and became fluent in both reading and writing. Through this experience, she emphasized gaining an understanding of the culture and the festivals. However, she added, “I am yet to become able to read or speak my own Fante language fluently.”
She completed her Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Ashesi University in 2022. This took her to the eastern region of Ghana, where she spent four years studying on a beautiful campus situated on a hill. Recollecting the time, she said, “the weather was quite different from what I was accustomed to. At night, the view from the campus was refreshing, with the lights of Accra sparkling in the distance. On rainy days, this small city was enveloped in fog, creating a unique atmosphere.” Prior to her bachelor’s, she had taken what she calls “an unconventional route to explore interests in mathematics by studying A-level Mathematics and Physics at the African Science Academy for one academic year, with a full scholarship, after graduating from senior high school”.
The beautiful Ashesi University campus on a hill in Berekuso (Credit and Source: Ashesi University, Image from X)
After graduation from the bachelor’s program, Eunice took a professional role of a teaching assistant at her alma mater, supporting core undergraduate engineering math courses such as Differential Equations and Statistics for two years. She then transitioned into a research assistant role, collaborating with Dr. Elena Rosca, an engineering faculty member at Ashesi University. They explored the use of authentic assessment and various project-based learning approaches in their math and statistics classrooms through a SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) inquiry. These experiences fueled her passion for mathematics and statistics education research.
As a research member in the PRIME community, she wants to focus on pedagogy and assessment of learning outcomes that promote deeper understanding and curiosity for undergraduate students learning mathematics.
Her future professional aspiration is becoming a mathematics or statistics educator and researcher at a university in her home country, with the goal of improving mathematics and statistics education in the African continent. She is also looking forward to being a part of a community of educators dedicated to enhancing student learning outcomes through SoTL.
With educational organizational endeavors aimed at social transformation, she took on part-time work with The Education Collaborative, a consortium of African higher education institutions, where she assisted their programs and operations team as an Intern. Additionally, she became an Engineering for Change (E4C) Fellow in 2024, completing an E4C Impact Project in collaboration with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (E4C Project Partner) to address a sustainable development-focused challenge related to SDG 4: Quality Education.
Eunice has a long history of spearheading such transformational student-centric community education organizations. With fellow student Nancy Mba, during her undergrad days, she co-founded the Ashesi Engineering Student Association, a student-led initiative serving as a community space for engineering and computer science students at Ashesi University, offering opportunities to engage with various aspects of engineering outside of the classroom. As part of this initiative, she organized both online and in-person speaker forums, as well as a field trip, which allowed participants to acquire relevant skills and learn from the experiences and failures of other students, graduates, and professional engineers with the goal of helping them become well-equipped engineers.
From 2022 to 2025, she volunteered with the Magnificent Smiles (Msmiles) Foundation, a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on empowering underprivileged children, particularly orphans, through a holistic educational intervention program. Cherishing those experiences she said, “As the program manager for the Ashesi Msmiles Student Association, a club associated with the foundation at Ashesi University, I oversaw and supported the activities of the student leadership team. I provided strategic direction to successfully execute five projects that have impacted over 100 children in three orphanages across Ghana. Our initiatives included mentorship programs, an exposure visit to a university, STEM and robotics workshops, math tutorial sessions, and providing access to mathematics and science textbooks.”
In a 2023 panel session organized by the Ashesi Career Service Peer Advisors, she discussed the process she had gone through to secure internships during her undergraduate studies, aiming to help current undergraduates find similar supports. In another session organized by the Bowney Initiative in celebration of International Women’s Day, she spoke to junior high school girls at Fidelity School and Berekuso Basic School, sharing information about similar scholarship opportunities. She encouraged them to have an open mind about science and mathematics, urging them not to view these fields as challenging. Her talk was followed by her co-facilitation of a STEM workshop for the girl attendees of the program, introducing them to engineering design and problem-solving.
Eunice as community organizer, speaker, panelist, and workshop facilitator
Eunice enjoys listening to Christian gospel music and watching comedy movies or series in her room, looking at the sunset or sunrise, and spending time with her friends. She traveled to Limerick, Kigali, and Durban to attend conferences. She always finds time spent beyond the formal conference sessions the most fun. In another short conference trip to Ireland, she did not miss the chance of spending a few hours exploring Dublin city with a friend, taking pictures, visiting a mall for shopping and ice cream, and enjoying some delicious food at Nando’s. In Rwanda, she went shopping at a local market and experienced the vibrant atmosphere of the city during the day.
Collage of Eunice’s free time activities
“My most memorable travel experience”, she excitedly added, “was in South Africa with Elena Rosca, where we had a chance to walk along the stunning Zimbali Beach and feel the power of the Indian Ocean waves. We visited uShaka Sea World, where we saw some dolphins, penguins, and seals, and explored the aquarium. We really enjoyed bird watching – eagles, owls, and many more, as well as free-roaming wildlife including giraffes, zebras, antelopes, warthogs, at the Tala Game Reserve.”
Eunice traveling to different parts of the world
Eunice extends her warm and humble love to her family and friends, particularly William, Dr. Rosca, Vera, Rosemond, and the amazing community at Ashesi University, who all supported her in different ways for her current PhD pursuit. She also acknowledges her scholarship donors: Plan Ghana, African Gifted Foundation, and Jim Ovia Foundation, for their support.
PRIME wants to thank Eunice for allowing us to get to know her a little more. Welcome to the MSU math ed community, Eunice! We know you will continue to do amazing things, and we are happy that you are here in our doctoral program!
