Alhaji F. Saccoh
Growing up during the civil war in Sierra Leone, the idea of getting a college education was an impossible dream, but Alhaji F. Saccoh likes to dream big.
He was able to escape his war-torn West African homeland and immigrate to the United States in 2004 to pursue his dream. When he started taking classes at Richland in the summer of 2004, Alhaji had to start with college prep courses. He worked diligently for almost two years and finally enrolled in his first credit class in the spring of 2006.
Alhaji continues to work hard to earn a degree in conflict resolution and international studies. He has a new dream that some might consider impossible: peace.
“This degree will help me to understand more about conflicts, how they are averted and how to secure a peaceful resolution,” Alhaji says. “It is my goal to help secure a sustainable society for Africans, one without war, hunger, disease and abject poverty.”
Fittingly, Alhaji is the co- founder of the Peace and Justice Club of Richland College. He also is an honor student at RLC and an officer the Phi Theta Kappa Honor society. He was the 2007 Annual Student Success Award Recipient, and was Richland’s representative to the 2007 Diversity Luncheon.
Volunteering for the International Rescue Committee, an organization that resettles refugees from around the world in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is dear to Alhaji’s heart as he was once a refugee. He also is a member of the United Nations Association of USA, and is an alumnus of the LeaderShape Institute and Leadership Richland.