Alhassan Susso
2020 Horace Mann Awardee for Teaching Excellence
Alhassan Susso
Author | Speaker | Educator | Social Entrepreneur
Alhassan Susso
2019 New York State Teacher of the Year
Keynote Topics:
Creating a Courageous Classroom
Finding Your Purpose for Teaching
Pivot: Rethinking the Purpose of Education
Post-Traumatic Growth: Being an Intentional Educator
Relationships: The Difference Maker
Teaching for Impact: Turning Adversity into Opportunity
Alhassan Susso is an educator, author and speaker who has devoted his career to transforming the lives of young people facing difficulties. An immigrant from West Africa, Alhassan came to America as a poor teenager coping with a rare eye disease with gradual vision loss which he still copes with as a teacher.
Living with this obstacle, Alhassan seeks to expand the worldview of young minds through the development of essential life skills necessary to succeed academically, socially, professionally and economically.
He is the author of a motivational memoir, The Light of Darkness: The Story of the Griots' Son, which traces his journey to America as a nearly blind teenager and his trials and triumphs becoming American, while maintaining his deep African roots. This book is now being used in several schools in the U.S. to teach a variety of topics including immigration, overcoming adversities, practicing compassion etc. It also enables teachers to effectively implement his strategies in teaching new immigrant students in their schools.
Alhassan is the Founder and Director of the Inspiring Teens’ Future program at the International Community High School. The Inspiring Teens' Future (ITF) program provides students with the social and emotional development skills necessary to succeed academically, socially, professionally and economically. The program is built on five essential skills: Mindset and Emotional Mastery, Vision Setting, Interpersonal Communications, Leadership, and Financial Management. This program has taken his school from a 31% graduation rate to 81.2% within 5 years.
Articles and Discussions
This past week, our district had the distinct pleasure of hosting Alhassan Susso for a motivating keynote address. By sharing his personal journey, Mr. Susso clearly demonstrated the power of perseverance and determination. Overcoming incredible odds, he came out on the other side as a true changemaker, impacting the lives of students and educators alike. His thought-provoking questions and positive mindset serve as an inspiration to us all! Thank you, Alhassan Susso for providing top-notch professional services to our team!
By empowering his students, by helping them to believe in themselves, he gives his high school students the tools they need to chart their own future. It is no surprise that some of his graduates now want to become teachers themselves.
Alhassan Susso was inspiring and has the Union and Franklin Township Schools moving in the right direction! Powerful message!
Alhassan is living proof that every child in this country deserves a quality education and an opportunity to thrive.
Wow! Just Wow! The keynote address from Alhassan Susso was so powerful and timely considering all we are dealing with as educators during this COVID-19 crisis. Alhassan Susso captivated the entire audience from beginning to end; even a virtual barrier proved to be no barrier to this impactful educator. It was the perfect message to start the uncertainty of this school year; a not so subtle reminder that we control the perspective and we control the narrative and that we may be the only hope and the only lifesaver our students may have. I challenge any human to walk away unmoved, untouched, and forever unchanged. Alhassan Susso understands what motivates us all as educators and brings it bubbling to the service. I’m sure if Alhassan Susso could see the viewers, there would be few dry eyes.
When Alhassan Susso and I keynoted a conference event in January 2019, little did we know that we would establish a friendship and brotherhood. Since that time, Mr. Susso has delivered several keynote addresses for my company, GOMO Educational Services. He is truly a gifted speaker who utilizes components of his personal and professional journey to deliver every presentation with authenticity and reflection. As a result, attendees can picture themselves in his stories from his perspective. Keynote addresses send vital messages when an organization seeks to get their staff members an inspirational boost or movement in a direction. Mr. Susso has done just that for GOMO Educational Services each time.
Alhassan Susso is an inspiring speaker; it was truly an impressive story. I received many emails about how moving the convocation speech was. Looking forward to working with GOMO!!!
Alhassan Susso was selected as one of the top 50 educators worldwide for the Varkey Foundation's Global Teacher Prize.
Author | Speaker | Educator | Social Entrepreneur
