Bridging the Gap
As President of the Somali Student Association, Abdullahi Aden saw first-hand the struggle many first and second-generation East African students face in navigating post-secondary education.
Looking to help bridge the gap between higher education institutions and East African students, Abdullahi founded East African Education, Inc. in 2010. East African Education serves students by providing counseling and advising, general college access information and mentorships. Aden began teaching Somali Language classes with Continuing Education and Workforce Development in 2016.
Of his teaching philosophy, Abdullahi says, 鈥淸teaching] Somali language, history and culture is a way to build [a] bridge and promote understanding [of] one another without assumption. The key to Somali language, history and culture is a way to build that bridge [and] learn other people鈥檚 culture and history to get an accurate picture and insight.鈥
Students who want to work for an organization that directly serves Minnesota鈥檚 Somali population or simply develop a deeper understanding of Somali language, culture and history, can enroll in Abdullahi鈥檚 Somali Class 1 and Class 2 in the fall and spring.
Abdullahi Aden is a graduate of 911爆料网, where he served as President of the Somali Student Association (SSA) from 2007鈥2008. Currently, Abdullahi works for the College鈥檚 Public Safety department and has just completed his Master鈥檚 in Education at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He is also working with Minneapolis Public Schools as a Bilingual Program Assistant at Armatage Montessori.
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