Below are just some memories that members of the WNEC family had to say about Nii.

Nii was a really good guy.  He always had a smile on his face and he was always willing to try new things.  I still laugh when I think about the first time he tried to go skiing with a group of us.  He was having a hard time even staying on his feet, but he was still enjoying himself, still laughing it up on the mountainside with the rest of us.  That was classic Nii, always positive even when things were not going his way. We were roommates and co-workers for a summer also and I got to know him really well.  It is a shame that his life was cut so tragically short, but one thing that I do know is that Nii lived every day to the fullest.  I'll always remember Nii when I think back to my college years, and I would like to send my deepest condolences to his family for their loss.  Your son impacted many lives during his time here in Springfield, and he will always be in our thoughts.

~ Jason J. Neal
   WNEC Class of 2000

 

Nii was a great person and a great friend. He always made the day brighter.

~ Jessica Ribiero

 

I remember him always willing to try anything (even skiing) and when focused on a goal always going after it with his all. I just remember him having such a hard time skiing. The coordination required for skiing can be harder for taller people with long legs, especially if you're ot that athletically inclined (plus there's a fear element of having farther to fall!!!!) But he didn't give up!! He was truly a friend to all. Oh so sad..... all my best to his family and the WNEC community.

~ Ryan Courtemanche

    Class of 2000

 

 

This has taken me a week to think about. That is, what I should say about at my amigo Nii’s memorial service. You know, we all hear about people dying everyday, and being here (Iraq), you hear it more often than you would like to. But when it happens to someone you know, someone you’ve laughed with, through the good times and the bad, a person who becomes more than a friend, and eventually becomes a part of your family.  It hits home a little harder, and that cold reality can, at times is too painful to handle. Nii was one of the first people I considered to be a close friend at WNEC, but was unable to pronounce his first name. It was only after three weeks of trying to say (Nii Anyetei Akofio Sowah) I finally ‘got it.’  Nii was my roommate down at the apartments; we shared some great moments there. We shared a mantra…”Study hard during the week meant partying harder on the weekends.”

The things that I’m going to miss the most about Nii, are his energy, and strong desire to overcome adversity, while keeping a positive mindset and light heart. There was even an occasion when his student visa expired and he was being told that he would have to leave the country. Anybody else would have accepted that and left, but not Nii, he was too determined to make a better life for himself. So he stuck it out, contacted the appropriate agencies and won his ‘Extended Stay’ in the states.

My last words for Nii: Nii, you are going to be missed. You’re leaving behind friends that grew to love you, a family that will never forget you, and a daughter that will forever be protected by her daddy in heaven.

~ Cleo Caban

 

 

 

 

I first met Nii in January of 2000 when he joined the Lecture Day 2001 committee...I was chairman that year. He was one of the three students assigned to the committee by the Student Senate (I believe), and I was impressed that he had gotten active in student government so early in his undergraduate career! Your news of his death is sad indeed.

~Elizabeth Elam

Associate Professor, Marketing

School of Business

 

 

Nii was unique. There was something about him that was unlike anyone I ever met. He was engaging and yet aloof in an interesting way. He had a combination of interests and taste that made you want to get to know him better. He wasn’t one of those people who were constantly smiling, but when he did smile, it could light up an entire room. Maybe it was his international background, but there was also an aloofness about him that made him just a little bit different than everyone else. Unique.

 

How could anyone not like Nii. He was full of talent and gifts that made him special. Nii had a great memory for things that needed to be remembered. Nii was also easily remembered. My wife, who does not come on campus often, remembered him instantly when I told her of his death. Once you met him, you didn’t forget him.

 

Nii was unique. We will miss him.

 

Dr. Richard DiRuzza

Vice President of Student Affairs & Dean of Students

Western New England College

 

 

 

I remember Nii as such a wonderful writer and such an intellectually alive young man. As a freshman in my English class his engagement with the ideas in the essays we read, discussed and wrote about was far above the level of most students. I am very saddened by the thought that he will no longer be able to share his ideas with everyone fortunate enough to be around him.

~ Anne Rice

Professional Educator

Writing and Reading Program

 

 

It is with profound sadness that I learn that my former student, Nii Sowah has passed on. I had the opportunity to have Nii in at least one Economics course and I was greatly impressed by his keen intellect and precocious capacity to absorb and analyze some of the important issues of economic and social justice. During the time he studied at the college Nii exerted a very strong and beneficial influence on his peers, friends and professors.
Ni has left a positive impression on his classmates and professors; he will not be forgotten. His memory will always remind me that this young man had every talent and every gift but a long life. I certainly will miss him.
Schiller Casimir
Associate Professor, Economics
School of Arts & Sciences

 

My fondest memories of our beloved Nii, is how tall he was and his smile. I always loved his smile because he had nice white teeth. He also was very intelligent. He knew a lot about various topics and always appeared to be picking other people’s brains and loved to learn new things as well as share his own knowledge and experiences. Nii was also very social. He loved music and I recall many social gatherings in which Nii would be dancing and appeared to be really enjoying himself. Nii definitely never went unnoticed because he was everywhere and always doing something. He will be missed very much physically, but his memory will never doe and he will live in our hearts and always be apart of the WNEC family forever. I pray the Lord keep all of Nii’s family and that they find comfort and peace!

Love,

Shanekha

P.S. This is in memory of WNEC’s true Nubian King!

N= Nubian

I=Intelligent

I= Interesting and Intriguing

 

 

 

My favorite memory of Nii is the time that he was fundraising for a club and he convinced me that I needed to buy a particular candleholder or my home would just not be complete! He had the gift of a golden tongue and I am more attached to that candleholder than ever before.

Maureen Hart Keizer

Assistant Dean of Students/ Student Activities and Leadership Development