Since its founding in 1916, St. Joseph’s University, New York (SJNY) has prided itself on being a trusted institution of higher education. Students who have ventured from close and afar to attend the campuses in Brooklyn and Long Island have taken the tools and knowledge learned at the University to impact the lives of others across the globe.
One extraordinary example is alumnus Reverend Father Daniel Neyoh, MBA ’21 of the Archdiocese of Cape Coast in Ghana, West Africa.
When he arrived in the United States in 2016, his bishop recommended he enroll in an MBA program in healthcare management.
The goal: to deepen his understanding of the world and apply his knowledge back home to help those less fortunate. Fr. Daniel’s search was extensive, but he ultimately decided on St. Joseph’s University, New York’s Long Island campus in Patchogue.
Two years later, Fr. Daniel joined the SJNY community as a student in the MBA in Healthcare Management program while still working at Huntington Hospital. He credits both with putting him on the pathway to create the RuralGo Health Foundation in Ghana, a not-for-profit healthcare organization that promotes the health and improvement of well-being through the construction of facilities in remote areas that have limited or no access to healthcare services.
During his time at St. Joseph’s, Fr. Daniel was impressed by the University’s curriculum, faculty, and resources as well as its ability to adapt to uncertainty, the COVID-19 pandemic being the biggest example.
“It was a difficult time, but the University did well when it came to adjusting to virtual learning,” Fr. Daniel recounted.
Reverend Father Daniel Neyoh, MBA ’21
Before arriving in America, Fr. Daniel served as the director of health for his diocese, coordinating activities and managing five hospitals and one clinic. After graduating from St. Joseph’s and returning home with the skills and knowledge from its MBA Healthcare Management program, Fr. Daniel has improved the efficiency of his department, establishing three new clinics with more under construction.
“What St. Joseph’s did for me was show me how to think beyond the technical aspects of what I am doing. Many of the things I was learning were added along the way. I believe that to be an essential part of managing. Adding and removing as you go along,” said Fr. Daniel.
He applauded the program’s flexibility, which he defined as not just teaching students how to be managers or supervisors, but leaders. His professors presented him with multiple leadership styles and cited their significance as the foundation to any successful organization.
“They taught me that you can have a very fine organization, but without leadership, it’s going to quickly fall apart. That is something I always think about to this day,” he said.
While Fr. Daniel’s time at St. Joseph’s fortified him as a leader and implored him to think outside of the box, the connections and network he established along the way has helped him foster even more positive changes in Ghana.
With a colleague he met through SJNY, Fr. Daniel established a nonprofit called RuralGo Health Foundation, which aims to “bring healthcare to the front steps of the poor” in Ghana.
Rather than have Ghana’s rural population travel great distances — especially sick children, the elderly and pregnant women — Fr. Daniel and trained medical professionals go to the local communities to provide health education, clothing, medication and quality healthcare to those in need.
As time progressed and he witnessed the impact of his hard work, his St. Joseph’s experience inspired him to take his foundation a step further.
The organization is now constructing facilities in those remote areas that have limited or no access to healthcare services.
This October, the RuralGo Health Foundation broke ground on the four plots of land where it will build its first healthcare facility.
Fr. Daniel hopes that St. Joseph’s students will continue to look abroad as a means to gain experience, widen their cultural gaze and help others—just as SJNY did for him.
“If you allow yourself to experience everything the University has to offer, you will benefit in ways you could not imagine,” Fr. Daniel concluded.
