The year 2025 gave us many inspirational and encouraging stories. Some made history on a national level, while others highlighted the power of determination or served as beautiful reminders of the importance of good relationships and self-care.
Here are a few of the stories that left us truly inspired.
Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang—Ghana’s first female vice president
Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang made history on January 7, 2024, by becoming Ghana’s first female Vice President. Her selection as John Mahama’s running mate in March 2024 also marked her as the first woman on a major political party’s ticket.
Before this, the literature professor was the first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa. From 2013 to 2017, she served as Ghana’s Education Minister under President John Mahama, focusing on inclusive education, which led to the Inclusive Education Policy 2015.
Opoku-Agyemang has also contributed to numerous local and international boards and committees, including CDD-Ghana and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her career exemplifies the power of persistence and determination.
Nigerian scientist sent Egusi (melon) seeds to space
Nigerian scientist Temidayo Oniosun sent Egusi (melon) seeds, a common West African food, to the International Space Station (ISS) on a NASA mission from Florida. This is the first time a West African crop has been sent to space.
The project, called the Earth Seeds for Space Initiative, will test if Egusi can be grown in space to feed astronauts on long journeys.
The seeds came from Oyo State, Nigeria, and NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim is overseeing the experiment, which involves The Karman Project and Jaguar Space LLC.
Nigeria’s Kwunkeyi Isichei went from being a truck conductor in Canada to working for the government
Kwunkeyi Isichei is a Nigerian man who lives in Canada. He works as the Digital Communications Advisor for Canada’s Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development.
Isichei’s inspiring path began with hard times after he moved to Canada in 2021. To support himself, he first took many simple jobs. His first job was making burgers at McDonald’s. He also worked as a DJ for a short time to pay his bills.
Then he spent three months working in a warehouse before quitting because of the long hours. He also briefly worked as a truck conductor. He then started working at the airport as a ramp agent, loading bags, and was later promoted to a plane marshaller at the Montreal airport.
After these early struggles, Isichei achieved a “dream come true” by becoming a TV reporter. His career quickly grew when the Federal Government of Canada hired him. He started as a main photographer for one of Prime Minister Trudeau’s ministers.
He has since been promoted to Digital Communications Advisor (lead photographer for Mark Carney’s minister). In this role, people see him as the “creative mind behind the Minister’s online presence.”
HBCU student became the first Tuskegee Airman in 80 years
20-year-old Isaiah Hand made history by becoming the first student in nearly 80 years to earn his private pilot’s license through Tuskegee University’s relaunched Aviation Science Degree Program.
The program was reintroduced in 2024 after receiving $6.7 million in federal funding. Hand, a Florida native and first-generation college student, skipped his summer vacation for training. He now plans to complete further certifications for a commercial pilot’s license.
“There is no other feeling like it,” Hand said.
Besides his aviation pursuit, Hand is also the euphonium section leader for the university’s Marching Crimson Pipers Band.
Mary Ann Petty honored as Albany’s first Black City employee, 53 years after she started at age 19
Mary Ann Petty, Albany’s first Black female employee, dedicated 53 years of her life to the city, beginning her career at just 19 as a customer service clerk during desegregation. Despite facing blatant discrimination and a difficult work environment, including being forced to eat lunch alone in the boiler room and enduring continuous verbal harassment, Petty persevered.
She rose through the ranks to eventually become the Director of Administrative Services. Fifty-three years after she started, Albany recognized her groundbreaking service in a special ceremony at the Albany Civic Center.
The event celebrated her long, impactful career and was attended by her family, friends, and the city’s current diverse leadership. Reflecting on her journey, Petty expressed her amazement, saying she never thought she would see such diversity among the leadership today.
Marcus Freeman—first Black coach to reach college football finals
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman became the first Asian American and Black coach to reach the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship, leading the Fighting Irish to the January 20, 2025 final after a 27-24 Orange Bowl win over Penn State. Freeman, who is Korean and African American, emphasized the team’s shared accomplishment and expressed hope that his success would open doors for other minority coaches.
A former football player, Freeman established himself as a defensive coordinator, notably with the Cincinnati Bearcats, before taking the Notre Dame head coach role in 2021. Though he initially downplayed his Korean heritage, Freeman, the son of a Korean immigrant mother and Black Air Force veteran father, now values his diverse background.
His groundbreaking achievement is inspirational, marking significant progress in the sport. His commitment and ability to motivate his team are reflected in his rising salary, which increased from $2.29 million in 2021 to $5.79 million by 2022.
A Georgia woman found a son in a stranger after one lift
Keith Tidwell, a Kroger employee, endured a risky two-hour walk to his night shift until Debbie Rhoden, a customer, saw him in the dark. Still grieving the loss of her son, who loved helping others, Rhoden offered him a ride.
What began as a simple ride has become a powerful, consistent friendship. Rhoden now drives Tidwell several times a week, finding comfort and renewed meaning in their friendship.
Kelly Rowland reconciled with her father after three decades
In a truly inspiring revelation on the “Mama, I Made It” podcast, music icon Kelly Rowland, 44, shared her deeply personal journey of reuniting with her long-estranged father, Christopher Lovett, after three decades. Rowland’s decision was driven by her desire to gift her own children the precious knowledge of their grandfather and to bravely “bridge the gap” that years of avoidance had created.
When they reconnected in 2018, the meeting didn’t just mend a relationship; it unveiled a powerful legacy. She discovered her musical roots ran deep—her paternal grandmother had been a backup vocalist for legends like Lena Horne and Count Basie. For Rowland, this realization transformed her career into a beautiful fulfillment of her grandmother’s “dream,” solidifying the belief that this reconciliation was “bigger than me,” especially for the future of her children.
She now describes their relationship as “awesome,” and she expressed how eagerly she anticipates spending Christmas with him. They are now “making up for lost time” and building a beautiful new chapter, one day at a time.
Blac Chyna Celebrates 900 Days of Sobriety
Television personality Blac Chyna (Angela White) celebrated significant lifestyle changes she began two and a half years ago, starting in 2022. She resolved to focus on her career, family, and reverse some cosmetic procedures.
On Instagram on Saturday, March 1, 2025, she shared her transformation, writing, “I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t at peace. Until I found Jesus. Until I got sober. And started to remember Angela. 900 days sober.”
The model shared a screenshot of her sobriety app, emphasizing the role of God in recovery. She added that change requires personal transformation.
These updates followed a recent photoshoot where she captioned her pictures, “Embracing the best version of myself, every day.” The mother of two shared her journey over the years, which included a breast reduction, dissolving dermal fillers, tattoo removal, baptism, and silicone removal from her buttocks.
She explained on the Food for Thought show with Devon Franklin that she “got sick and tired of being sick and tired” and “had to strip down everything” that was holding her back.
‘Call it JSL’: How a paralyzed artist found love with a deaf dancer and created their own language
Artist Sara Jane Parsons, 61, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down and cannot use sign language, found a unique way to communicate with deaf, Tony-award-winning dancer Jimmy Turner when they met in January 2005. Parsons compared it to communicating in a non-native language. She first saw Turner, 71, feeling music vibrations at a break-dancing competition in Austin.
They reconnected months later, and Turner had a neighbor schedule their first date. Twenty years on, the couple has developed their own intuitive language, which Parsons jokingly calls “JSL,” a blend of American Sign Language (ASL) and American Indian Sign Language (AISL), where she mimics his signs with her body and face.
Parsons had a difficult recovery after a spinal cord injury but later finished law school at UC Berkeley and worked as a lawyer until 2004. She then moved to Austin to become a full-time artist, a skill she didn’t have to relearn post-accident.
Meeting Turner brought her great happiness, complementing the joy she found in painting. They share a sense of humor, a love for animals, dedication to family (including two godchildren and Turner’s two daughters), and a passion for dancing, which Parsons says forms a “foundational compatibility.”
