Ronald E. Quist was born in 1955, two years before Ghana gained its independence. He began his education at Christ the King International School, a Catholic primary school. He grew up in North Labone, an upscale, leafy residential area of Accra. His parents and teachers instilled in him the responsibility of helping to build his nation. His education at Achimota School, one of the country’s most prestigious, provided him with a world-class education. He studied undergraduate physics at the University of Ghana and graduate work at Queen’s University in Canada in physics. He has spent a lifetime trying to reconcile his childhood ambition to make his “nation great and strong," in the words of the Ghana National Anthem, with a lived experience of underdevelopment.