From Bamoun prince to Marian Spencer Scholar: Finding community at UC

A Marian Spencer Scholar and second-year finance student at UC, Tiani Vessah grew up in Douala, a bustling metropolis of nearly 4 million people and the economic hub of Cameroon, a country in central Africa known for its natural beauty and varied ecosystems.

He also has an important connection to Foumban, a historic city that dates back to the 14th century and is the cultural and artistic center of the Bamoun people of Cameroon.

As a prince in the Bamoun monarchy, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s oldest ruling families, Tiani Vessah serves as the sultan’s representative abroad, helping preserve Bamoun culture and community. Foumban is his ancestral home. The city’s Museum of the Bamoun Kings is striking; its architecture is dominated by a two-headed snake at its entrance and a spider perched on top of it.  

In Bamoun culture the spider represents diligence and the double-headed serpent symbolizes victory.

“The Bamoun people are one of the pillars of our country because we were among the ones who had an influence on Cameroon’s importance and development,” says Tiani Vessah. “My grandfather was one of the sultans, a leader of our community, and he passed away five years ago.”

That title passed within the royal lineage which includes Tiani Vessah, who lost his father when he was nine.

“I am good with being a prince,” he adds. “Being a sultan is a lot of responsibility. If a situation occurs where Bamoun people are being misguided or drift away from their culture, it is my job to bring them back together and teach them about the true culture of the Bamoun people.

“I could also be assigned on a mission to just go to Douala and make a speech on the sultan’s behalf,” says Tiani Vessah.

Tiani Vessah is a recipient of UC’s Marian Spencer Scholarship. He is preparing for a future career in investment banking and hopes to eventually become certified as a chartered financial analyst. A CFA is a valued credential in the world of investment management.

He was born in Oakland, California, but spent 13 years growing up in Cameroon. He came to Cincinnati as he was entering high school. He left what was familiar in Cameroon to join his two older sisters, Aicha and Laetitia, in the Queen City, while his mother and another sister remained in Africa. Laetitia was a manager at Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble at the time.

“Oliver has so many ambitions,” says sister Aicha. “From one topic to the next he is ready to achieve. I still remember him as a baby and now he’s taller than all of us and achieving one milestone and on his way to achieve another. It feels great to see this. 

“As his sisters, we are very proud of him,” says Aicha, who was present when Tiani Vessah was announced as a Spencer Scholar.

At Cincinnati Public Schools’ Withrow High School, Tiani Vessah was a top student — as well as an honors student, a soccer team captain, a theater stage manager and an interpreter for French-speaking African students at his school.

He spoke fluent English upon arrival because his primary school in Cameroon, part of the ENKO Bonanjo system, required students to speak English exclusively when on campus. 

Most Cameroonians speak French, but with more than 250 ethnic groups in the country, other languages are also spoken and understood. Tiani Vessah speaks French, English, Duala, Bamoun, Basa, Pidgin and Yaoundé.

“Schools were aware when the students went back home all they would speak was French,” notes Tiani Vessah. “If they enable us to speak French at school we are kind of losing the progress of putting so many hours into learning another language.”

In Cincinnati, UC values its commitment to making a college education more accessible to everyone. The CPS Strong Program is a reflection of that promise.

Tiani Vessah says UC seemed a natural choice for college study after experiencing how the university offered support to students in Cincinnati Public Schools wishing to further their education. He took college-level classes in high school through College Credit Plus, a program known for supporting college readiness and affordability.

“I had the opportunity to get about 21 credits from the University of Cincinnati for free and to just do what I love, and that was to just pursue finance in further ways,” says Tiani Vessah.

Seeing the investment UC made as a high school student gave him a clear path to attend UC for college, he says.

During his first year on campus, Tiani Vessah shared living space in Marian Spencer Hall with other students in the Marian Spencer Scholarship program. The experience was eye-opening.

“I was very hesitant being told that you had to share a room with somebody,” says Tiani Vessah. “Honestly, after the first week I realized that I got to meet a roommate that was there for me.”

Spencer Scholars would gather weekly for a debate night, a chance to tackle the world’s big problems.

“It was hands-down one of the best experiences I’ve had,” says Tiani Vessah. “It was a chance to see how different people portrayed their intellect. Think about it, you have a psychology major, a political science major, an engineering major, a finance major, a biochemistry major and you are just given the chance to express your thoughts.

“We think we are big dogs because we are the top 10% of Cincinnati Public Schools and we got a Spencer Scholarship, but you realize you are a big dog among big dogs. We were always pushing each other to be the better version of ourselves.”

During his first year, Tiani Vessah completed his first co-op at Tire Discounters in Cincinnati, working as a financial analyst and responsible for accounts receivable performance. He says UC’s top ranked co-op was among the attractions for becoming a Bearcat.

“One of my major tasks was working with Goodyear Company, as we were an official vendor of Goodyear Company to different companies like Pepsi, Coca-Cola in Atlanta, or even our local Tire Discounters stores,” says Tiani Vessah. “I had the opportunity to learn how AR processes really operate. It was a multitude of financial processes that are quite complicated and for a college student to have that hands-on experience it was invaluable.”

Tiani Vessah, also part of the University Honors program, is a member of the Investment Banking Club in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and volunteers for a nonprofit organization that he created. Hope in Action is dedicated to helping orphans  in Douala, Cameroon.

He was able to garner support for Hope in Action from corporate supporters, Neptune Oil and Ecomonk. The plan is to broaden the nonprofit’s activities to other parts of Cameroon in the future, blending his Bamoun roots, UC connections and business training.

Tiani Vessah says he and others who travel or study abroad are given an international perspective that can be beneficial to Cameroon.

“Most of the Cameroonians who travel abroad to Spain, France, Germany and come back, their first perspective is: That place had free education and I want my home to have free education as well.

“That place had nice infrastructure. I want my home to have nice infrastructure as well.

Being able to gain that cultural experience from somewhere else and bring it back to your home offers a chance to make it better,” says Tiani Vessah.