Third-Generation Rattler Travels to Ghana, Africa in Hopes of Leaving a Positive Mark on the African Diaspora

This fall, Florida A&M University MBA candidate, accomplished scholar and third-generation Rattler Renita Canady will be continuing her studies abroad.

In August, she will be traveling to Legon, Ghana to participate in the Global Elevation International Business Leadership Program. Canady hopes to gain the experience necessary to achieve her goal of working with entrepreneurs to help bring their visions into fruition and to work in the field of investments and consulting in emerging markets. She is particularly interested in Pan-African opportunities and Diaspora markets.

“I am delighted that Renita is extending her international exposure to Ghana,” said Lydia McKinley-Floyd, dean of FAMU’s School of Business and Industry (SBI). “The experience will be truly an enriching one, where she and the ideas she brings will be valued and rewarding. This initiative, made possible through the creative genius of the founders of Global Elevation, Melissa Howell and Kandace Jones--both SBI alums, is yet another positive link in the chain of global opportunities available to SBI students.”

The FAMU SBI, among other entities, has partnered with Global Evaluations to increase the number of African and African-American college and high school students who participate in international education programs to expand the global awareness of this student population and maximize their preparedness for successful careers in the current era of globalization.

“This mission is significant because the ability of African people to manage and reap the benefits of all their resources (natural as well as human) is so crucial for their progress at this time,” said Canady.

While in Ghana, Canady will be involved in an intensive cross-cultural study abroad program based on the needs of the hosting institution, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. The focus of the program is to challenge students to think strategically, while connecting them to business mentors and preparing them for global leadership and entrepreneurship.

Canady, who has made the Dean’s List from 2001 through 2005, placed first at the Ford Motor Company HBCU Business Plan Competition in 2005 and was the national champion at the Deloitte Case Study Competition in 2005. No stranger to the international field of study, in 2007, she held a year-long internship as an investment analyst with a New York based hedge fund, which stationed her in Manila, Philippines and Hanoi, Vietnam. Earlier this year, she earned certification in advanced financial analysis and financial modeling from a respected training firm that caters to Wall Street.