Norman Gyamfi Pledges Support to OFTC While Speaking at Black History Month Event
While serving as guest speaker for Oconee Fall Line Technical College’s (OFTC) Black History Month event in Sandersville, Norman Gyamfi pledged to support the college through an annual scholarship, Wednesday, February 9.
A native of Washington County, Gyamfi is familiar with the college. His grandmother, Katie Smith Poole, served on the college’s first board of directors in 1995.
“The question I want each one of you to ask yourself today is, ‘Am I in my purpose?’” Gyamfi said. “The purpose of my speech is to encourage you to look at your life and determine if you are doing what God placed you on earth to do.”
He continued to speak and shared how his adolescence shaped him into the person he is today.
“You’ve heard my resume,” he said, “but there’s a lot that was left out.”
Gyamfi is an entrepreneur, engineer and economist and the founder and owner of several companies including Undivided Entertainment, Undivided Touring, Tribl Records, Doxology Creative and Maverick City Music.
He specializes in production, digital marketing, and business development with clients including BET, TV One, Lifetime, OWN, My Block Records, and Relevé Entertainment.
“No one makes it without the support of everyone,” he said. “It takes truth, accountability, friends, family… it takes everyone for one person to succeed. No one is self-made and that includes me.”
Gyamfi acknowledged that he did not always see his purpose in life, but through the prayers of his family and their longsuffering towards him, he responded to God’s call on his life.
“My purpose was attached to my yes to serving God,” Gyamfi shared. “I walked away from what the world called success to unknowingly pursue God’s purpose for my life. I was more successful in that moment than I’ve ever been in my life because in that moment I knew the answer to this question, ‘Am I in God’s perfect will,’ and the answer was, ‘absolutely.’”
While reflecting on his grandmother’s influence in his life and how he watched her live out her purpose daily, Gyamfi announced plans to start a generous scholarship of $100,000 annually in her name to honor her legacy.
“She embodied the fruit of the spirit,” he shared. “She was loving, kind, gentle; she had self-control. She was a pillar in this community, and she did everything she could for everyone that she knew. I would be remised on a day like today not to honor her in an amazing way.”
“I don’t want finances to be a deterrent to any student that walks through here again. That is the heart my grandmother had, and I want this gift to the college to be used to change lives,” Gyamfi added. “What you guys are doing here is game changing. This scholarship, I want families in this local community to be able to say, ‘my child went to Oconee Fall Line Technical College on the Katie Smith Poole scholarship and then went on to pursue their purpose. I want to plant that seed and that legacy so that no student is unable to pursue a brighter future for lack of financial opportunity.”
In closing, Gyamfi emphasized how his willingness to live God’s purpose for his life changed the trajectory of his life.
“The only thing that matters is that you are in your purpose, that you understand surrendering your life to God, you stay there, and that you care for those around you in a way that they understand what they poured into you, you are willing to give back,” he said.
Gyamfi is scheduled to speak at OFTC’s Black History Month program in Dublin on Monday, February 28. For more info, visit OFTC.edu. To learn more about OFTC’s 100+ programs of study, visit the program page on the college’s website.
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To view additional photos from the Black History Month event in Sandersville, visit OFTC’s social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
