Sophia Mensah Brown

I attribute my success to my faith in God, my passion for education, and the lessons my father taught me during the most difficult time of my life. When my father was paralyzed and I had to leave school as a teenager to care for him, he showed me that learning and growth happen everywhere, not just in classrooms. He nurtured me and taught me that my mindset determines what I can achieve. After he passed, I carried forward his belief in me and continued my education with purpose. My faith has been my foundation through everything - God has been so gracious to me, and without Him, I wouldn't be where I am today. I also credit my success to my supportive husband, who encouraged me to go back to school when I came to America and helped me upgrade myself. But most importantly, it's my passion that drives me. I don't go to work for a paycheck - I go because I genuinely love helping children and see them as my own. When you love what you do and put your whole soul into it, you don't get tired or burned out. I've worked for 5 years without calling in or being late because this is my calling, not just a job. My success comes from staying true to my values of respect, servant leadership, and never giving up, and from believing that I was created to make a difference in the lives of young people.

The best career advice I ever received came from my husband when I first came to America. He told me, 'Sweetie, you have to go back to school. That's the only thing that you can upgrade yourself and help others too.' That advice changed my trajectory because it reminded me that education isn't just for personal advancement - it's about equipping yourself to serve and uplift others. It reinforced what my father had taught me years earlier when he was paralyzed and I was caring for him - that I could still learn and become who I wanted to be, even outside a traditional classroom. My father showed me through his own example that your circumstances don't define your potential, and that lesson has stayed with me throughout my career. These two important men in my life taught me that continuous learning and self-improvement are the keys to making a real impact, and that's exactly what I try to pass on to the children and young people I work with today.

First and foremost, it has to be your passion. Don't go into education just for a paycheck, because if you put the money first, you can't truly demonstrate what's in your heart and mind. A lot of people go into education for the shake - the money - but I believe if it's not your passion, you're not going to help the kids and you're not going to help yourself. I learned this from my own experience. I've been working with one school for 5 years without calling in or being late, not because I don't have challenges in life, but because it's my passion. I see the children like my own son, and I go to school every morning just to help them. I don't care how much they pay me - although I need money, I know the right time will come to make things better for myself. So my advice to young women is this: make up your mind. If the teaching field is not your passion, don't go into it, because you're not going to be any good. You have to love what you do and put your whole soul into it. When you do that, you don't even feel tired. Also, remember that education is about more than academics - it's about nurturing the whole child and preparing them for life with leadership skills. And finally, never underestimate yourself. Build your self-esteem, believe in yourself, and remember that nobody should tell you what you can or cannot do. You are the only person who can determine that. If you need help, ask for it, but never give up, because God didn't create us to fail.

The biggest challenge in education right now is that we're losing a lot of good teachers because they're not getting the love, support, and respect they deserve. The problem is we don't have good leaders in the system. Too many people in leadership positions don't understand what true leadership means - in their minds, being a leader means you have to run people down, control them, monitor them constantly, and weaponize them for every little thing. They think leadership is about saying 'I'm going to write you up, I'm going to punish you, I'm going to suspend you,' but that's not leadership at all. A good leader has to be a servant. You have to have effective communication skills, respect your team, encourage them, and support them instead of accusing them. Teaching is not a joke, and teachers need administrators who understand that and lift them up rather than tear them down. Another major challenge is that children aren't getting the love and support they need, especially here in America. Kids are disrespectful, they do whatever they want because parents don't want to discipline them, and phones are babysitting the children instead of parents sitting down and talking with them like we did where I come from. The opportunity I see is for people like me who understand servant leadership to step into coaching and training roles to help develop better leaders who can turn this around. That's why I want to become a coach and trainer - to help people understand how to be good leaders who support their teams instead of running them into the ground. If we can fix the leadership problem, we can fix education.

The values most important to me are faith, passion, respect, and servant leadership. My faith in God is my foundation for everything - it has brought me this far, and without it, I wouldn't be where I am today. I read my Bible when I'm free, and I know that God has been so gracious to me. Passion is essential because if you don't love what you do, you can't pour your heart and soul into it. I believe that when you're passionate about your work, you don't get tired or burned out - you just keep going because it fulfills you. Respect is another core value that takes you a long way in life. I was brought up to respect people, even those younger than me, because you learn so much from everyone. Some people think I'm scared when I show respect to those older than me, but that's just how I was raised. Respecting others, including children, helps you connect with them and learn from them. Finally, servant leadership is at the heart of everything I do. A true leader doesn't run people down or control them - a leader serves, listens, takes opinions from all sides, supports, and encourages their team. Leadership is about understanding people, communicating effectively, and helping them grow, not weaponizing them or punishing them. These values guide me in my work with children, in my relationships with my family - my supportive husband and my son - and in my goal to become a coach and trainer who can help others understand what real leadership looks like.