Everyone told Andrew Teye he should go into teaching — even Andrew Teye. However, after his experience with the Pauper Players, Furman’s student-run musical theatre group, Andrew decided to draw the line there at pretending to be someone else.

“I thought I was going to come here studying education,” he says. “But I started to perform in musicals, and I realized theatre is such a big part of me.”

Andrew’s ideal future is one where he’s turning those visions into reality by writing and directing plays that challenge the status quo.

“Now I realize I want to be more of a creator creating theatre pieces that mirror society and will cause impact in society,” he says. “My mission is to create a contemporary theatre back home in Ghana that features plays that highlight those issues and especially feature local plays from local playwrights.”

Andrew gained valuable knowledge about the technical aspects of dramatic productions as a theatre arts major, and he found a mentor in Associate Professor of Communication Studies Janet Kwami a fellow Ghanaian. Another impactful experience was his time conducting research for Furman’s Task Force on Slavery and Justice, where Andrew brought a unique perspective.

“This was a way for me to understand the reality of my ancestors, because that history is not discussed that much in Ghana,” he says. “My biggest takeaway is that there’s still so much history we don’t know, and it does still impact and influence us today. And not knowing and ignoring it is a statement already.”

In his own words...

"To me, Furman is a small school with so many big opportunities. Furman does a great job in allowing its students to thrive in the way they want to and has many resources to ensure that they do thrive."