Ghana’s beloved screen goddess, Nana Ama McBrown, has opened up about a silent season of her life where she took an unusual route just to avoid public judgment — by enrolling herself in a secretarial school, not for ambition, but out of pressure.
Speaking to Berla Mundi on TV3’s New Day, McBrown disclosed: “So, I admitted myself in a school, College of Business Studies.”
Berla, shocked, asked, “You admitted yourself?” To which McBrown nodded and repeated: “Yes, I admitted myself in that school. I just felt like… they should take me.”
According to her, at the time, things were tough. She wasn’t sure of her direction in life, but society’s questions kept haunting her.
“People were just asking that question, like, where are you? What are you doing? And I felt embarrassed.”
With only occasional financial support — $50 once in a while from her uncle and some help from a friend — she managed to enroll in one of the new secretarial schools, where fees weren’t as intimidating.
“The school fees were not much. It was one of those newer secretarial schools, so they were even happy to take me.”
But here’s the kicker — she never planned to use the certificate.
“I was going to the school, Berla, knowing that I would not need that certificate for anything.”
When asked why she still chose to go, McBrown didn’t flinch.
“Because people were just asking. I didn’t want to feel like I wasn’t doing anything with my life. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I needed to be seen trying.”
This raw admission paints a picture of a young woman navigating expectations in a society that often mistakes visibility for purpose. And in her words:
“I don’t regret it. It has brought me joy.”
Even if the certificate is long lost, the lesson remains — sometimes, the step you take “just to belong” can still lead to growth.
