about us

Oguebi is the proud

Class of 1976

College of West Africa

Monrovia, LIBERIA

Since graduation, members of this class, have distinguished themselves as global citizens.

Today we are educators (on all levels), lawyers, doctors, religious leaders, authors, artists, public servants, business owners, humanitarians, community leaders, and generally upstanding family and community members.

Meaning of OGUEBI-- "The struggle continues."-IBO

Motto: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Class Colors: Orange and Brown

Class flower: Orange carnation

L-R: Mai Brownell, Donna Coles, Delcina Sayeh, and Merle Harmon

Atlanta, GA, 2016

Marbue Brown, Juliet Allen Miirte Koroma, Oretha Nance

Atlanta, GA, 2016

CWA

"Though a thousand fall, let not Africa be given up." ~Melville B. Cox

"We come thy grateful children all, pierian blessings to recall

Our tributes at thy shrine now fall, College of West Africa!"

The College of West Africa (CWA) is a Methodist college preparatory high school in Monrovia, Liberia. The second oldest secondary school in the country, CWA has a long history of excellence and for years has prepared leaders for all levels of government, business, and social services.

The idea of this school was first envsioned by Rev. Melville B. Cox, the first missionary sent to Liberia by the Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society. A native of Maine, Cox arrived in Liberia n 1833 with high hopes and dreams of establishing a mission house, school, seminary for young Christian converts, and churches in the country. Unfortunately his ministry in Liberia was cut short by malaria a few months later. Although his tenure in Liberia was brief, he was able to establish the Methodist Episcopal Church of Liberia before his death.

It was those who came after that eventually implemented his dream of establishing a school. This school formally opened in 1839 as the “Liberia Conference Seminary” with Jabez A. Burton as the principal. Eventually, it adopted a new name, “Monrovia Seminary.” For many years the school offered both elementary and secondary classes.

Over the course of its history, it became the central and leading school of all Methodist institutions in Liberia. The school's name was changed to College of West Africa in 1904, by an act of the Liberian Legislature. The college was officially recognized and confirmed to provide degree granting courses in ministerial training in addition to high school education.

By 1925, grave personnel and financial difficulties, as well as political interference, forced CWA to close its collegiate department. Notwithstanding, the high school department had survived and thrived. Over the years, it has maintained its reputation for training a stellar cadre of leaders and statesmen, including Liberia's first and female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Vice President, Joseph Boakai. The Class of 1976 represents the proud legacy of CWA.