Alhassan Susso MAT ’12 Profiled in the New York Times

Bard alumnus Alhassan Susso MAT ’12, was profiled in a piece for the New York Times covering how he is self-funding a teaching prize in Gambia after grant funding from the State Department for it was cut. Born and raised in the Gambia, Susso moved to the United States when he was 16 years old and has become an educator who has won numerous prizes, including a national teacher-of-the-year prize in 2020, for his work. His most recent recognition as one of six winners of the Flag Awards, which recognize teachers in New York City “who inspire learning through creativity, passion and commitment,” came with a $25,000 award. This was coincidentally the same amount that was eliminated from the public diplomacy grant through the US Embassy in Banjul, the Gambian capital, for which he had spent months preparing an application before the website with the grant program disappeared. Susso, who has already spent thousands of dollars of his own retirement to underwrite similar projects supporting teachers in Gambia, told the Times that using his prize money to keep the project going was “a no-brainer.”

Post Date: 07-01-2025