The dream of a brilliant but needy 21-year-old to become a lawyer is on course after Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) granted him a full scholarship to study Law at the University of Ghana.

The former Mpohor Senior High School graduate had resorted to illegal mining aka galamsey in the Western Region due to financial constraints to furthering his education.

Stephen Koomson, whose plight caught the attention of GNPC when his story went viral on social media, recorded an impressive 5As and 3Bs across various subjects in the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

But has since had his education curtailed by the lack of support and this, according to him, led to his involvement in small-scale illegal mining (Galamsey).

At a brief meeting with the student and his guardians, the Executive Director of the GNPC Foundation, Dr Dominic Eduah, described Stephen’s circumstance as an “unfortunate situation deserving immediate attention” and hence the Corporation's decision to intervene.

“We are enrolling him on the GNPC scholarship immediately to put his dreams of becoming a lawyer back on track and we are just as excited to offer him an opportunity to facilitate this in consonance with the tenets of our Education & Training mandate,” he said.

He added that GNPC, in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders, has set in place plans to ensure Stephen gains admission into the University of Ghana Law School by the next academic year.

A visibly elated yet emotional Stephen expressed his profound gratitude to GNPC for acting on his story to ensure the life and future he envisioned as a boy becomes a reality.

He assured the Corporation of his readiness to remain studious and be a worthy ambassador for GNPC.