School Assemblies, Student Orientations, Programs for teachers, administrators, and coaches, Small group sessions and workshops, Student council events, PTA events, Special conferences, Staff in-service days, staff conferences, Diversity/Black History Month celebrations, Career days, Student clubs, groups and camps, DECA, FFA, FBLA, SADD, FHA/HERO, Leadership conferences, College and University events, Correctional Facilities, Teen institutes

“Albert weaves his background as a less than poor young man in Africa with that of his very American son in a way that strikes a chord with the youth. They see themselves in Albert’s soccer playing, American son and laugh spontaneously with him as he relays stories of how he explains what life is really all about to his own child. This connection is incredible to watch and a true joy to experience. As a testament to his message, his biggest challenge is getting away from the crowd of students that seek him out after his talk. The lines are 20 deep as they ask for a picture with him and earnestly listen as he tells them to make their own destiny, not let others define their measure of success, and encourages them to give back to a world that has offered them so much regardless of their current situation in life.

Mr. Mensah has my unqualified endorsement as a speaker, regardless of the audience,
but particularly with high school and college students.”

Gene Kolczynski, Marketing Teacher/DECA Advisor, Lindbergh High School

Albert Mensah is the “Prince of Possibilities.” He grew up in Ghana, one of the poorest countries in West Africa, while incubating a curious dream that made his peers laugh: Someday he would live in America. After seeing his first movie shown on a makeshift screen, he began his lifelong passion for reading, by “practically living in a library,” and eventually received a four-year scholarship to Western Maryland College, where he was incidentally an All-American soccer player.

Since then he has worked hard to become an internationally known speaker, with appearances in more than twenty countries while performing in a sundry array of challenging venues. As a child in Ghana he attended school in a three-room dirt floored building covered by a straw roof, so that when it rained, the students had to stand for hours in mud while leaning on each other if they wanted to learn. Albert wanted to learn, and he learned how to learn with passion and enthusiasm. “Those two qualities separate leaders from the average person,” he tells his youth audiences, “You have to aim high always, because the danger of being ‘just average’ is always lurking.” Albert’s goal is have his audiences acquire the ability of building their own foundation – an enthusiastic, passionate self focused on personal accountability, practical life skills, and indelible character. “Young people grow up with a choice to pay or play, or vice-versa,” he explains, “You can do either, but not both. He didn’t get to watch television until he was 19, “but I never felt deprived,” he recalls.

His message is built upon a mingling of passion and real lived experience – an extraordinary combination that resonates in the heart – as well as the mind. According to Jean Carpenter, Executive Director of the Washington State PTA, “Mr. Mensah was one of the best speakers, if not the best, that we ever had. His stories and message appealed to ‘heart’ and ‘head.’ His message touched our emotions, motivating us to do more, and touched our minds, giving us pragmatic strategies to achieve our goal of building a better world for all children.” An 11th grader wrote to Albert following a dynamic school assembly, “You really caught my attention – which is a pretty hard thing to do. You have inspired me to try my hardest at everything I do.”