Education
Keishia Thorpe in tears as she wins $1M Global Teacher Prize [VIDEO]
Keishia Thorpe jumped up and down, then broke down in tears when she found out she won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize, TopNaija reports.
On Wednesday her students in Bladensburg, Maryland, gathered together to watch the virtual ceremony and shouted with joy as their teacher’s name was announced.
The high school teacher was given the award for her work mentoring and making college education accessible for students who are first-generation Americans, immigrants or refugees.
“Education is a human right, and all children should be entitled to have access to it,” Thorpe, 42, said in a pre-recorded video message during a ceremony broadcast online from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris.
“Every child needs a champion, an adult who will never ever give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the very best they can be,” Thorpe said in the video.
“This is exactly why teachers will always matter.”
Keishia Thorpe, who teaches at International High School at Langley Park in Prince George’s County, was selected from more than 8,000 nominations and applications from 121 countries around the world, the foundation said. Thorpe said she was grateful to the foundation for putting teachers in the spotlight and telling their stories.
See the video below:
