Published: December 17, 2025
Dialokai Golanyon-Kemayah earned a Master of Divinity in Leadership from the Bradley D. Brown Graduate School of Theology, graduating summa cum laude
MONROVIA -- Rev. Mrs. Dialokai Golanyon-Kemayah etched her name into the academic history of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary (LBTS) over the weekend, graduating as valedictorian of the Class of 2025 with a cumulative grade point average of 3.82, the highest GPA ever recorded since the seminary was founded nearly five decades ago.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
The unprecedented achievement was formally confirmed by the seminary's president, Rev. Dr. Momolu A. Massaquoi, who told the graduation ceremony that a thorough review of institutional records showed no previous graduate had attained such a result.
"This is the highest honor of academic achievement ever at this seminary," Massaquoi said. "I have searched through the records carefully and I have never seen this record in LBTS. No student has ever graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.82. This is history."
Dialokai Golanyon-Kemayah earned a Master of Divinity in Leadership from the Bradley D. Brown Graduate School of Theology, graduating summa cum laude -- the highest academic distinction conferred by the institution. Seminary officials described her performance as a "glass ceiling-breaking" moment in LBTS' academic legacy.
Founded in 1976 by former Liberian President Dr. William R. Tolbert Jr., who also served as president of the World Baptist Alliance, LBTS is widely regarded as the oldest theological seminary in West Africa and one of the oldest on the African continent. Over its almost 50-year history, it has trained generations of pastors, theologians, educators, and church leaders across Liberia and the subregion, but none, until now, with Golanyon-Kemayah's academic record.
Beyond her academic distinction, Dialokai Golanyon-Kemayah used her valedictory address to deliver a powerful and socially charged message, calling on the Church, the government, and society at large to confront Liberia's growing drug addiction crisis with compassion, policy reform, and structured rehabilitation.
"There is no better time than now to reflect on the dire state of our youth, the future leaders," she said. "Drug addiction is eroding the hope and dignity of our nation. Collectively, we must fight drug addiction."
Speaking under the theme "Prophesying Life to the Streets: A Mandate for Rehabilitation," Golanyon-Kemayah challenged religious leaders to move beyond theological debates and address lived realities on Liberia's streets.
"For years we have wrestled with Greek and Hebrew, debated homiletics and apologetics," she said. "But while we were safe inside these walls, a different kind of meditation was happening outside our gates. Our youth are starving for hope, feeding on poison that is destroying the fabric of our nation."
Drawing from Ezekiel 37, she likened Liberia to a "valley of dry bones," referencing young people struggling with drugs such as Kush, Spark, and Die, many of whom are stigmatized and abandoned by society.
"Today, Liberia is a valley of dry bones," she said. "We label them 'Zogos' to distance ourselves. We call them disadvantaged youth because it sounds political. But these are future leaders wandering our streets, sleeping in graveyards because the land of the living has rejected them."
She sharply criticized approaches that emphasize punishment over healing, arguing that arrests without rehabilitation only deepen the crisis.
"We must speak truth to power," Dialokai Golanyon-Kemayah said. "Arresting addicts without rehabilitating them is a waste of human lives. We need properly funded, well-staffed medical rehabilitation centers, not makeshift camps where addiction is treated as a moral failure."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Calling for a holistic approach, she urged the integration of medical care, counseling, vocational training, and faith-based support.
"Rehabilitation must address the spiritual, psychological, and vocational needs of the victim," she said. "A restored life requires more than sobriety -- it requires purpose."
In an emotional moment, Dialokai Golanyon-Kemayah paid tribute to her husband, Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah Sr., former Minister of Foreign Affairs, describing him as her "mentor, best friend, and strength," and crediting his support as central to her academic success.
Rev. Dr. Massaquoi and other seminary officials hailed Golanyon-Kemayah's accomplishment as both an academic landmark and a moral call to national service, consistent with LBTS' founding vision of producing leaders grounded in scholarship, faith, and social responsibility.
