George Attah-Asante Caps Off La Salle Career with Role in Commencement Ceremony 

Recent La Salle University graduate George Attah-Asante does not know what “down time” is. His resume of activities and community service during his four years as a La Salle student is enough to make a person’s head spin—resident assistant, soccer player, local director for National Student Partnership, Neo-African Drum ’n Dance member—the list goes on and on. “I can’t stop doing,” said Attah-Asante, “I always have to be doing something.” At La Salle’s recent Commencement ceremony, he was chosen from the student body to deliver the ceremony’s closing prayer. 

A native of Ghana, Attah-Asante has always been on the go. “I was part of a brass band, and we traveled a lot, playing many different places in our country,” he said. At age 15, he came to the United States with the hopes of beginning a new life with many new opportunities. After graduating from Fels High School, Attah-Asante began his studies at La Salle as part of the Academic Discovery Program (ADP), an academic support program that aids students transitioning into college. 

One of his ADP instructors, Marjorie Allen, Ph.D., Chair of La Salle’s Integrative Studies Department, was immediately taken by Attah-Asante. “George is one of the finest young men I have known in the 30 years I have been teaching at La Salle. He is a role model for others, a committed, smart, enthusiastic, principled young man who is simply one of a kind,” said Allen. 

Allen was so impressed with Attah-Asante that she encouraged him to minor in the University’s Leadership and Global Understanding (LGU) Program, which integrates service learning, intercultural and international studies, and community leadership while encouraging students to become more engaged citizens. 

“His sensitivity to other cultures and his awareness of the richness of diversity have made his contributions to the LGU program absolutely essential to the education of the other students with whom he has worked,” said Allen. 

As an LGU student, Attah-Asante was assigned to perform required community service with the National Student Partnership, a volunteer organization where local college students aid local community members in gaining the necessary resources to obtain and maintain regular employment. “I started out there simply to fulfill my community service requirement, but I found I couldn’t leave. I felt an attachment to the people we were helping—they needed me,” said Attah-Asante. He later went on to serve as the organization’s local director of the Northwest Philadelphia site. 

An avid soccer player, Attah-Asante was a member of La Salle’s men soccer team for two years, earning him a scholar-athlete certificate. However, at the beginning of his senior year, with graduation looming and a new internship, he decided to give up soccer. “Although soccer runs through my veins, I realized that I needed to make more time for my studies,” explained Attah-Asante.  

Attah-Asante, who lives in the Lawncrest section of Philadelphia, graduated from La Salle University in May with a degree in Accounting and minor in Leadership and Global Understanding. He’s currently studying for his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam and will begin his accounting career with KPMG in October.

“La Salle has opened so many doors for me, more than I could imagine,” said Attah-Asante. “My time at La Salle has really been an awesome experience for me—a time of growth and a transformation of spirit.”