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A brother

August 10, 2019
Kojo means a lot to everyone that means a lot to me, in my heart , he’s my brother. They say to know someone is to love them . In this case , even without knowing you I feel like I know you. Reading all of these stories , made me laugh , smile and even cry . I’m grateful the world had a chance to experience you. You make the world brighter 

-love Kemishia Sorzano ( your sister

the dead of a believer

April 20, 2014

I never met Kojo Owusu Minta but as I read through the memorials,I can feel him.His love for the word of God touches me most.How many young people who have everything going for them in life like Kojo,do remember their maker in their youth but Kojo was different.Taught as a child by two serious scripture loving parents he kept it going.We love you Kojo and we will see you face to face when the trumpet sound in the last day.I know that this aspect of your life have and will continue to draw souls to Christ.Vicky I know there are times you will be overwhelmed by the death of your beloved son but you have pulled through so strong.May God continue to strenghten you,Kwaku,akua and Kofi.

Dr. Paul's comments - Kojo's memorial dinner (Oxford, UK)

October 24, 2011

Kojo Minta memorial dinner, Saturday 22 October 2011

Dear Mr and Mrs Minta, Kofi Minta, Anna Minta, ladies and gentlemen, honoured guests, friends of Kojo’s here present -

It’s a great honour for me to have been asked to address you at this dinner in memory of Kojo, a very beloved and very sorely missed member of the College and of this University. When Mark Stevenson asked me if I would speak this evening, he reminded me of the welcome speech which I, as Tutor for Graduates, held at the first Dinner of Michaelmas Term when Kojo and all those of you who came up to St Hilda’s at the same time as Kojo were new here. Mark wrote: ‘I remember that our time at Hilda's began with a dinner at which you implored that we take time to 'wallow in the life of the mind', and this very much sums up Kojo's attitude over the past two years.’ Well, that wasn’t quite what I implored you all to do; though when I looked back at what I said back then, I realised how much I must have been speaking to Kojo’s interests, because in fact it was a speech about food. The Founder of St. Hilda’s College, Dorothea Beale, was, according to her biographer, ‘indifferent to food and disliked entertaining’. I, by contrast, wanted to encourage you to eat well and enjoy talking to each other at dinner, since, as Virginia Woolf inspires us to think, fine dining – and indeed fine drinking – lights in the soul, and I quote, ‘not that hard little electric light which we call brilliance, as it pops in and out upon our lips, but the more profound, subtle and subterranean glow which is the rich yellow flame of rational intercourse’. Little did I know that Kojo was going to take me so seriously! Not only was he a wonderful and very painstaking cook, with an eye for the finest ingredients, who gave pleasure to all those friends who were fortunate enough to dine with him – well, at least once all that duck fat in jars in the fridge had actually been used – but he also, as I was later to learn, nursed an ambition to eat a ten-course dinner with a matching flight of wines in a Michelin-starred French restaurant – an ambition he was able to fulfil before his untimely passing.

Altogether, we remember Kojo as a man of very discerning tastes, whether in food, in books, in poetry, or in clothes. I have to mention That Suit. I was delighted to discover that the website of Ede & Ravenscroft, London’s oldest gentleman’s tailors, where Kojo had his bespoke three-piece suit made, bears the tagline ‘Dress of Character’, for that was exactly what that suit was. Kojo understood, rather rarely for someone his age, the rhetorical force, if I may call it that, of clothes. Good clothes are sometimes no more than that: fine cloth adorning a human frame, suggesting degrees of wealth and taste. But clothes can also amplify a person’s character, expressing through the outer image the person’s inner truth. Kojo’s understated elegance remains imprinted on all our memories – it is a legacy he leaves to us, that strong image of the matching socks and pocket square, the fine fabrics, the good shoes, and how he moved so gracefully in those carefully chosen clothes – but the reason it affects us so strongly is that it was not just a sartorial grace, but rather an expression of who he was. The understated grace was in the man more than it was in the suit. The image of Kojo beautifully dressed takes us straight through to the person and his qualities.

I found it very striking in the many conversations I’ve had over the last two months with those who knew and worked with Kojo how many people have mentioned the quietness of his ways while at the same time emphasising his effectiveness. He was in no sense a flashy person. Working with him when he was Vice-President of the MCR, I was often surprised at the subtlety with which issues were addressed, the little pieces of the jigsaw of a planned event moved quietly into place, or an issue which was upsetting others moved into a slightly different light until it ceased to be a problem. That kind of confidence of judgement which does not draw attention to itself at all speaks, I think, of an enormous strength of character. Talking to his close friends, I gather that strength came from a lot of good reading, an upbringing in faith, and, one felt it always, didn’t one, a profound thoughtfulness. Meeting his family yesterday, I saw that the strength and the dignity came to him as a birthright.

It is devastating that he is gone. We all wanted to go on seeing him, talking to him, enjoying his company, and having those little pieces of the jigsaw subtly moved into place for us. We might have been reconciled to the fact that death comes to us all and so also to Kojo if he had been a ninety-year-old man with a lifetime of achievement behind him – and he would have had a lifetime of great achievement behind him, that was clear. But the fact of the matter is that, even going from us at twenty-four, he had led a very full life and we carry him in our hearts and minds as a very fully fledged character with very clear convictions and a very clear sense of what was right and what needed to be done, and who was determined to act to the good of all who came within his purview. It is very difficult to accept, but I think Kojo’s legacy to us is to teach us that there is such a thing as life after death. Physically taken from us, he nevertheless is very present with us because each of us in his or her own way, depending on our own personal relationship with him, has such a strong sense of who he was and what he was about as a person. And Kojo being still with each of us issues us the following challenge: live life to the full, be joyous and full of laughter, read well in the great authors, think deeply, be curious, learn discernment, choose friends carefully with whom to converse and so to work out your true convictions, see what is good and go out and do it. May he go on living with all of us.

September 26, 2011

While working on a paper tonight, suddenly a memory came to my mind. It was the fall of 2009 and Kojo and I were working at the Bodleian library, he was reading a book and I was working on my computer. The early-morning sun was shining in through the window by our table, and I looked up from my work to admire how lovely a day it was turning out to be. Kojo looked up too, our eyes met, and we both smiled - I can see his huge, warm smile still now in my mind. Memories like this have been coming back to me of late, and while they often bring me to tears, I am so happy I have them because they remind me of him, of his passion, his joy, and his presence in my life. 

August 23, 2011

I didn't know Kojo Minta and was very moved by what I have read about him in the news. He seemed to have so much life and a lot to offer. From what I read, he was very devoted to reading the bible and seem to develop a close relationship with God. I take it he got this from his family and I assume you study the bible as a family.

I just wanted to give an encouraging thought from the bible.  God has sent his son Jesus to the earth as a ransom sacrifice for us all so we can gain everlasting life.  What that must mean is that God promises that we will have everlasting life based on our faith and our exercising that faith in the ransom.  What about the loved ones we have lost?  Note Jesus stated when he was on earth in John 11:25 "...He that exercises faith in me, even though he dies, will come to life".  Also at John 5: 28,29 "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life..."  Life where?  Again the bible answers that as being here on earth.  Notice it says "an hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice".  Therefore, it must be a time for all.  So where?  Revelations 21: 1-4.  "And I saw a ...new earth...God is with mankind...And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more.."  We do have a chance to see our loved ones again as God promises.  Please pray for more understanding for He sees the pain of you and your family and he will direct you to be comforted through the Scriptures.  Wish you well and I am sorry for your loss.

God had a reason

August 20, 2011

God had a reason for everything that happen in our life and sometimes it very difficult to understand. I am Ghanaian and I wish it didn't happen at all. God knows what tomorrow will bring. I lost my wife when my son was two and half years old in Canada. I was the father and mother to my soon, he just celebrated his sixteen birthday. It was hard but I gave him my promise as was given to me by the lord that we will go through this together.

Kojo was full of life from the pictures and wish it didn't happen, Brilliant and displine. I wish our youth will emulate his gracious, humility in life.

God Bless!!!

Tragedy for St Hilda’s Student

August 18, 2011

Tragedy for St Hilda’s Student        

St Hilda's College is sad to announce that one of our graduate students, Kojo Minta, was drowned in an accident on 10 August while on holiday in France. Kojo was a talented student who had just completed his MPhil in Modern British and European History, and was due to take up a place next academic year at Lincoln College to study for his DPhil. He was a delightful and charming person who was always a great pleasure to know and to work with; he was a willing volunteer for many different activities including graduate student life at St Hilda's, assistance to our Development Office, and active membership of the University Race Equality Steering Group. As Vice President of the MCR last academic year he was well known to many of us in the College community, and much respected and admired for his quiet but very effective contribution to college life. We all mourn his loss.

Kojo's family have set up a memorial webpage in his memory.

Sheila Forbes
Principal

(Copied from the St Hilda's College website, http://www.sthildas.ox.ac.uk/)

Cherwell.org :Oxford student, 24, dies in holiday accident

August 18, 2011
Oxford student, 24, dies in holiday accident
History postgraduate loses his footing on the banks of a river while on holiday in France
Daniel Pennington on Saturday 13th August 2011

An Oxford student has died after a tragic accident in southwest France on Wednesday afternoon. His two friends, also from Oxford, tried but were unable to save him.

The victim was 24 year old American Kojo Owusu Minta, who was Vice-President of the St Hilda's College MCR last academic year. He had just completed an MPhil in History at St Hilda's and was due to begin a DPhil at Lincoln in Michaelmas.

The three students were part of a group of a dozen Americans and Britons staying at a cottage in a nearby village. They had spent the day on the banks of the Gave d’Oleron near Dognen in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, when Minta lost his footing and was swept away by the current.

His two friends were unable to catch up with the current and soon lost sight of him. After another British tourist on the other side of the river alerted the emergency services, he was located downstream by a rescue helicopter.

A fire department doctor attempted for over an hour to resuscitate him but was unsuccessful.

The tragedy is said to have shaken the small town of Dognen, as the area of the river is reportedly popular for swimming with tourists and locals alike. The site is generally considered safe, with no previous history of accidents.

Dr Georgina Paul, Tutor for Graduates at St Hilda's, told Cherwell this week: 'The College is feeling the loss of Kojo Minta very sorely. He was a man of style and panache, a great personality in the College community, and it is impossible to comprehend how someone so dynamic could have had his life cut short in this way.

'But he was also a man of quiet good works and deep convictions, and I think all of us are feeling the strength of that legacy: his love of the Bible and of Milton, his work not just for the College, but for the University's Race Equality Steering Group, and with the African Books Collective amongst other activities.

'He had just attained a Distinction in his History MPhil and had the funding to continue on to his DPhil. His supervisors have written to me of his academic promise and energy and their shock, too, at his loss. This tragic accident has robbed the University of a talented mind as well as taking from all of us a very fine and special man. Kojo will for ever be remembered at St Hilda's.'

A memorial webpage in honour of Kojo Owusu Minta can be found here: http://www.forevermissed.com/kojo-minta.

http://www.cherwell.org/news/college/2011/08/13/oxford-student-24-dies-in-holiday-accident

 

 

Mail Online:'Brilliant' Oxford University student drowns in French beauty spot

August 18, 2011

'Brilliant' Oxford University student drowns in French beauty spot

Kojo Minta, 24, was swept away by the Gave d'Oloron river near the Pyrenees

Doctors spent an hour trying to revive him

 

By Peter Allen and Nick Craven

A brilliant Oxford University student has drowned in front of two despairing friends at a beauty spot in rural France, police revealed today.
 

Kojo Minta, 24, slipped into the fast-flowing Gave d'Oloron river in Navarrenx, in the Aquitaine region, close to the Pyrenees and the border with Spain.
 

He had just received a 'distinction' in his end-of-year exams at St Hilda's College, and was due to start a DPhil in history at Lincoln College.

But tragedy struck while Kojo was spending a summer's afternoon on an idyllic riverside popular with picnickers and bathers.
 

'Mr Minta was swept away beyond a small dam and eventually disappeared from two friends who were trying to save him,' said a local police spokesman.
 

'It appears that he had lost his footing, and was not a very strong swimmer. An English tourist in a separate group raised the alarm, with emergency service boats and a rescue helicopter arriving soon afterwards.

'The victim had been swept under the river by the time he was located. He had been in the water for around 20minutes by this time. More than an hour was spent by a doctor trying to resuscitate him, but to no avail.

'The man's friends were in a terrible state and had to be treated for psychological shock. It is normally a very safe, beautiful stretch of river. Many people swim there, especially on fine summer days.'
 

Kojo, a devout Christian who had moved from his home in America to study at Oxford, had been on vacation with friends in a cottage at Lay-Lamidou, a tiny hamlet nearby.

The accident - which is still being investigated by police - took place at around 5pm last Wednesday, August 10.

Kojo's name was released after his parents, Moses and Victoria Minta, back home in Houston, Texas, had been informed, together with his siblings, Anna and Kofi.
 

Kojo followed in a long line of talented Americans who have studied at Oxford. These include former President Bill Clinton, a former University College student, whom Kojo had met in the USA while completing his first degree at Pennsylvania University.
 

Kojo had just left St Hilda's, where he had been the vice-president of the postgraduate common room.
 

His academic results had been so impressive that he had already won funding to start his research at Lincoln in the autumn.
 

A student who knew Kojo well at St Hilda's said: 'Kojo was an absolutely brilliant student, who was loved and admired by everybody.
 

'He was gentle and kind - an inspiration to anyone who knew him. This is a devastating loss for Oxford University, and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to know Kojo.'

Anna Minta, Kojo's sister, has set up a memorial website in which she describes the keen saxophonist and former schoolboy footballer as being 'well known for his kindness, wit, style, and love of cooking, as well as his scholarly mind’.

Kojo had travelled to North Africa to study the effects of human trafficking on local communities, and had also helped open a library in Ghana.
 

Anna said that Kojo's last major academic work opened with quotes by Jeremy Taylor, the 17th Century Church of England writer and bishop.

They read: 'Death, which is the end of our life, is the enlargement of our spirits from hope to certainty, from uncertain fears to certain expectations, from the death of the body to the life of the soul.’
 

Kojo's body was due to be repatriated to America with the assistance of the US Embassy in Paris, and his funeral is due to take place at Braeswood Church in Houston on Saturday.
 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026933/Oxford-University-student-Kojo-Minta-drowns-Gave-dOloron-river-Navarrenx.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

The Voice: Oxford student drowns in France

August 18, 2011
Published on The Voice (http://voice-online.co.uk)

Oxford student drowns in France

 
 
A 24-year-old student at prestigious Oxford University lost his footing and drowned in a strong current river in France, police have reported
 

FAMILY AND friends are mourning the death of a bright Oxford University student who died on a summer trip to France.

Kojo Minta, 24, is said to have slipped into the fast-flowing Gave d'Oloron river, close to the Pyrenees, while on holidays with two friends.

Minta had just received a “distinction” in his end-of-year exams at St Hilda's College and was due to start a PHD in history at Lincoln College.

“Mr Minta was swept away beyond a small dam and eventually disappeared from two friends who were trying to save him,” a local police spokesman said.

Reports say the academic was in the water for around 20 minutes.

A doctor is said to have spent more than an hour trying to resuscitate him, but to no avail.

Mr Minta, who moved to the UK from Houston, Texas, in the United States, to study at the university was described by one friend as “gentle and kind - an inspiration to anyone who knew him.”

“This is a devastating loss for Oxford University, and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to know Kojo,” the friend added.

http://voice-online.co.uk/article/oxford-student-drowns-france

One message from Oxford

August 16, 2011

Dr Georgina Paul, Tutor for Graduates at St Hilda's, told Cherwell this week: 'The College is feeling the loss of Kojo Minta very sorely. He was a man of style and panache, a great personality in the College community, and it is impossible to comprehend how someone so dynamic could have had his life cut short in this way.

'But he was also a man of quiet good works and deep convictions, and I think all of us are feeling the strength of that legacy: his love of the Bible and of Milton, his work not just for the College, but for the University's Race Equality Steering Group, and with the African Books Collective amongst other activities.

'He had just attained a Distinction in his History MPhil and had the funding to continue on to his DPhil. His supervisors have written to me of his academic promise and energy and their shock, too, at his loss. This tragic accident has robbed the University of a talented mind as well as taking from all of us a very fine and special man. Kojo will for ever be remembered at St Hilda's.'

Jeremy & Kojo, friends forever more!

August 14, 2011

Dear Family:

People often say I know how you feel, when they truly have no clue. Sadly, I know how you feel. My beloved son Jeremy Marcel Ross (June 9, 1983-January 2, 2010) and Kojo were friends and classmates at Clements High School (class of 2005). Both Jeremy and Kojo graduated from Clements and headed off to college; Jeremy to Howard University, Kojo to the University of Pennsylvania. Both were excited about their future! Now they are both gone from this earth. Jeremy died in a car accident on Williams Trace Blvd, minutes away from home in Sugar Land, in January of 2010. Now Kojo! I was so sad when I heard the news and, as you can imagine, I relived my beloved son's death. This is now a new jounrney the family is on, one of heartache and grief! I am here to say, that GOD has comforted me in an inexplicable way. I have drawn closer to my GOD and he has helped to mend my broken heart, that will forever remain cracked. My heart goes out to Kofi, the big brother. Jeremy's big brother, Jason and Kofi are friends. I so fondly remember spending time with Kofi at Jason's commencement service at the University of Michigan in 2005. Kofi drove to Ann Arbor, Michigan to share a special moment with our family. Kofi will always have a special place in my heart for the kindness he displayed to my son, Jason. Life then seemed so carefree, now here we are at this moment of disbelief. Kofi we are so sorry that you have lost your baby brother. We truly know how bad that feels. We believe his body is gone, but his spirit live on.  I will continously pray for you all and ask GOD to comfort you at this time of profound sadness. We love you.

The Ross family, (Ralph, Phyllis, Jason & JIllian)

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