Ali Sekou: ‘If you want to change things then be the ambassador of that change’
This entry is part [part not set] of 13 in the series The Immigrants Among Us [http://manchester.local/inklink-series/the-immigrants-among-us/] If you want to change things then be the ambassador of that change
Country of Origin: Niger/ West Africa
At home in Niger he was in law school and well-educated, when he came to the States he returned to high school. He went to Laconia High School for ESL classes. That course led him to enroll at NHTI in the General Studies program.
NHTI opened the doors of opportunity, involvement, and connections.
“When I graduated, I transferred with a presidential scholarship at Plymouth State University,”Sekou says. He became a naturalized citizen in 2016.
He is a husband and father of two and a city councilor and vice mayor in Concord. He is engaged in several civic groups, is active in his mosque leadership and is a board member of the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (ORIS). He is a believer in working for change, saying, “If you want to change things then be the ambassador of that change.”
From his work in Niger, he recognized the value of cross-cultural connections and diversity saying, “I had a job with the U.S. Embassy, also I worked for the tourist site where I was a manager of a good tourist site in the region. People from across all backgrounds, and nationalities, and embassy staff from around the world come and see a sunset or sunrise,” he said.
“So my introduction to diversity didn’t start in the United States. And I said to people at the time, we welcome Americans and every other nationality in our country, that are either diplomats or tourists or came to visit a family member or are working for international organizations, I think that attitude should be embraced throughout the world.”
Sekou takes pride in his American citizenship and he describes the immigrant’s perspective of the country this way: “There are two things you have to keep in mind. The United States, as a nation, is highly respected outside and throughout the world. And the only reason that is, it’s because of the people of the United States. Growing up, whenever something happened, the United States was the first country to lend a hand to support people. We are genuine people, generous people. And we cannot be the leader of the free world if we let that reputation, and that good behavior, and that development, and defense, and diplomacy that we always invested in slide somewhere.”
