Winning the United Service Organization Shipmate award was the icing on the cake for FN Nana Asare, 27, originally from Ghana, Africa, at Recruit Training Command’s (RTC) Pass In Review on Sept. 14.
    At an awards reception following the graduation he, along with his wife, Jacobina Darku, 28, were eager to tell everyone of his journey from Africa to taking the Oath of Naturalization. Two weeks later he is now ready to start a new journey as a U.S. Navy sailor.
    Asare graduated from the University of Cape Coast with a degree in education. He taught high school in Ghana for a number of years. In July, 2009, during a trip made by President Barack Obama to Ghana, Asare decided he wanted to join the Navy.
    “When President Obama came to Ghana, I saw a huge ship pull into port; later I found out it was an amphibious assault ship,” he said. “Seeing that ship created a passion for me to someday join the Navy.”
     He and his wife applied for a Diversity Immigrant Visa, a congressionally mandated program for persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States, in November 2009.
    After an interview in April 2010, visas were issued to Asare and his wife in September 2011. They flew to the United States and settled in Queens, N.Y.