Putting her heart into it: Star Student Nana Kyei leads hypertension clinic in Ghana

Over about eight months, Nana Kyei ran a blood pressure center in Ghana, conducted research on hypertension and published her findings – all before her senior year of high school.

Kyei, whose parents were born in Ghana and who has most of her family members living there, had learned her great aunt had strokes due to hypertension, or high blood pressure. As she researched the topic, she realized the potentially fatal condition affected a large number of Ghanaians.

The then-16-year-old Western Reserve Academy student wanted to make a difference.

“There really needs to be more awareness about it,” Kyei said. “It’s really important to hear people’s stories because that is where solutions are found. That’s where you get to the root of the problem.”

Kyei was selected as one of this year's three top Star Students from more than 100 graduating seniors. The annual program by The Akron Beacon Journal, The Canton Repository, The Record-Courier and The Daily Record recognizes the region’s outstanding high school graduates.

The soon-to-be Yale student learned about hypertension issues in Ghana and Sub-saharan Africa from her grandfather, who told her about his sister’s strokes. Kyei worked with her grandfather, with funding help from him and Western Reserve Academy, to hold a blood pressure clinic in Ghana the summer after her sophomore year.

There, they played informational videos, handed out pamphlets and took people’s blood pressures, and she bonded with family along the way.

All data was recorded anonymously, and Kyei found 70% of the adults she saw had hypertension. Nineteen cases were people in crisis, and they were immediately sent to a hospital.

“This meant the people could have died at any second,” she said. “[Finding them help] made me feel fulfilled because you never could have known what would have happened.”

During her junior year, Kyei worked with teachers to put her research into a proposal that explored hypertension in Africans. Factors include genetics, diet and lack of access to health care.

Kyei said the illness is asymptomatic, which can explain why people may not regularly take their medication. It's also a matter of education.

“If you read the data head-on, it seems like a lot of Ghanaians are not taking their medication, and it seems like they’re not compliant, but when you hear people’s stories, you figure out that oftentimes, they don’t really understand what the doctor is saying and that they don’t have the money to buy the medication,” she said.

Kyei, now an 18-year-old from Richfield, will attend Yale in the fall with a major in biology. She plans to become an obstetrician, which focuses on reproductive, pregnancy, birth and postpartum care.

“Throughout her high school career at Western Reserve Academy, Nana Kyei has solidified herself as an invaluable and integral part of this community; from her leadership to her command of course material to her generously friendly nature, Nana stands alone as someone whose reputation precedes her,” teachers and administrators wrote in her recommendation letter. “Teachers are eager to see her name on their roster and students hope they get the chance to be her lab partner.”

'I just bury my head and get it done.'

Yale was where Kyei hoped to end up since the start of her college application process, but she first got deferred from the university when she applied for early admission.

Then, on Ivy Day March 28, she received an acceptance email decorated with little dancing icons of the school’s bulldog mascot.

“I screamed – my mom screamed,” Kyei said. “We were running around the house. It was so fun.”

Kyei has wanted to become a doctor since she was 5 years old. She still has the little doctor's coat and first aid kit her grandparents gave to her as a child. She became especially interested in biology in ninth grade.

With the free time she found, Kyei was a captain of Western Reserve’s varsity volleyball team, a leader in the French Club and Black Student Union and a chief ambassador, where she led tours of the school’s campus, among other commitments.

Along with a list of other achievements and a 4.23 GPA, the College Board named Kyei as the National African American Recognition Scholar for the 2022-23 school year, and she is part of Western Reserve's Cum Laude Society.

The recent graduate said she learned to find balance over her four years of high school by setting aside a weekend day for herself – along with having a planner and to-do lists.

“I’m not too hardcore, and sometimes there’s the stereotype of the Ivy League kid being super hardcore,” she said. “I do have a good work ethic though, so sometimes I just bury my head and get it done. Then I relax.”

Finding time for fun, too

Kyei spent three years living on campus, and she happily remembers late nights in the dorms with friends, watching movies, eating popcorn and sharing secrets.

It was not always easy finding a core group, but now, the graduate said she has found forever friends.

“It was more about finding people you can trust than people you belong to,” Kyei said. “For me, it was finding people I can rely on and, in that way, I really did find my place. I found people who I will have relationships with past these years.”

Her favorite school memory came while captaining the volleyball team.

“I decided to hold a ‘Friendsgiving’ with the whole team at my house,” she said. “We made food and got dessert and danced the whole time and talked. I got to bond with the team really well. Me and my co-captain did a good job of creating a positive environment on the court.”

Kyei found new interests – and much-needed relaxation –  in her ceramic and dance classes and hopes to take a similar class or two in college. She loves baking cakes, cookies and lemon bars and wants to start baking bread like her grandmother.

There will be no research this summer – Kyei said she is taking time to relax, featuring a trip to Hawaii, before her Ivy League schooling kicks in.

Keeping ‘strong’ values

In her recommendation letter, teachers and administrators described Kyei as “relentlessly kind.”

“Nana is guided by a strong inner moral compass,” the letter said.

Kyei focuses on working hard, showing kindness to others and treating people empathetically. Her father instilled in her the importance of staying true to herself, and she said following her Christian faith is a large priority for her.

“I aim to be someone people can come to and fully be themselves, and I think a lot of my friends find that role in me,” Kyei said. “That’s really important to me: having empathy and being a good listener.”

The opportunity to help others keeps her motivated.

“I just want to do something in the world, even if it’s not huge,” she said. “For example, being an obstetrician is a very meaningful job, and it's very needed. It takes a lot of work to get there, and I know that’s something I want to do. That keeps my eye on the prize.”

Reporter Isabella Schreck can be reached at ischreck@gannett.com.

About Nana Kyei

School: Western Reserve Academy

College attending: Yale

Major: Biology

Favorite social media: Instagram

Binge-worthy show: "Grey's Anatomy"

Favorite subject: Ceramics and microbiology

Biggest influencer: My grandfather has been an encouraging and supportive figure in my life who inspires me to do the best I can in every circumstance. I’m extremely grateful for his influence.

Where she sees herself in 10 years: Practicing medicine in a very warm state and raising a family there.

Favorite high school memory: My favorite high school memory was junior year prom. It was good vibes all around, and it was hilarious to watch my date and my friend’s date bowl against each other at after prom.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Star Student, Western Reserve Academy graduate Nana Kyei heads to Yale