Yemi and the Fulbright.

An update from the 2014 winner Yemi Fadahunsi as she continues to explore the world and teach:

“The Fulbright Fellowship is through the State Department which allows Americans to live and teach English abroad that further increases the soft power (diplomatic) relations between the U.S and various countries around the world. I am fortunate enough to be going to Taiwan from Aug 2018-July 2019.

I will keep you updated as the rest of the school year unfolds till graduation in May 2019!”

The 2018 Ace winner: Pa Nhia Thao

Pa has so much in common with my late father, it's magical. She graduated from Washington Tech which was once Washington High, the first school my father taught at. And Pa is attending St. Thomas, the university my dad received his teaching degree from. The circle keeps going.

This is her plan, in her words: 

"I graduated from Washington Technology Magnet. I have decided to attend the four year program at the University of St. Thomas. This past summer, I got accepted to a five week bridge program at UST; Reaching Excellence in Academics and Leadership (REAL) program. The program is all paid for with housing and meal plan for the five weeks. During the program, we are required to attend a Theology 101 course which is a four credit course that all students at UST have to take within their four years. I also got paired with a work study job that will allow me to continue working their in the fall as well. During the program, I have made new friends and built a strong connection with my professor and supervisors.

"Attending Washington Technology magnet, I felt very comfortable in my environment. Now that I am going off to college, my goal in the coming weeks are to find comfort in my own skin. Attending UST in the summer has definitely helped me find my resources and my support system and words cannot express how excited I am for college. This fall I will be taking sixteen credits; math, microeconomics, French 1, and art history."

Aonga, big heart, big dreams.

The original Ace winner, Aonga Shalita, continues his quest to help others with his many gifts. His latest update:

"My time at Macalester opened so many doors that I didn’t even know were options! I have been working for Rise Inc., a non-profit out of North Minneapolis for the past year. It has been an amazing experience. I have learned so much about mental health, social services, benefits, education and pitfalls that exist in our society. I have also learned more about people from different walks of life, experiences, attitudes and learned about their stories. As an employee at Rise, I work to support people recovering from mental health issues, pursue meaningful employment. It has been a fantastic experience that I can’t really do justice in describing. Moving forward I plan on continuing working here while I prepare for graduate school that I hope to attend the year of 2019!"

Ace would be proud.

Update from Yemi.

Yemi, the 2014 Ace winner, has difference-making plans. Awesome to hear. An update from her:

"I am in my final semester of my senior year at St.Bens! I am currently waiting to hear back from two fellowships to hopefully be abroad next year! I am a semi finalist from both the Fulbright Award for Taiwan and the JET (Japanese Exchange Teaching Program). I will hear back from them sometime in the beginning of April."

Go, Yemi!