Gyamfi Earns A&S Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Nana Yaa Gyamfi, a master’s student in foreign language with a concentration in French and a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Classical & Modern Languages and Literatures, has received the College of Arts & Sciences' Outstanding Graduate Student in the Humanities Award.
For Gyamfi, the award marks both personal growth and the path that brought her to Mississippi State. “It reflects how much I have grown during my time in the program,” she said, pointing to her journey from Ghana to MSU. “It is also a reminder that the effort I have put in is seen, and I am especially grateful for the support and mentorship I have received from the department.”
Coming from a different academic and cultural background, she has found the department’s approach especially meaningful and supportive of her growth. “I have learned a lot from my graduate coursework, especially from the Practicum [on World Language Teaching],” she said. The course focuses on reflection and developing effective world language teaching approaches.
She also pointed to the department’s interdisciplinary structure as an important part of that growth. Her academic interests connect language to broader global issues, and she has been particularly drawn to topics such as Francophone theatre and cinema, environmental fiction, and sociolinguistics, especially where language intersects with politics and society.
During her time at MSU, Gyamfi has already been recognized through the Institute for the Humanities’ Graduate Student Summer Support Program and as first runner-up at the Graduate Research Symposium. She also cites teaching her own classes and watching her students improve over time as one of her favorite parts of the experience.
Looking ahead, Gyamfi plans to pursue a PhD and continue studying the role of language in global contexts, particularly in relation to politics and diplomacy. Her long-term goal is to become a diplomat and contribute to international communication and policy.