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Scholar Hamissou Samari came to the U.S. from Togo speaking little English, and enrolled at the Borough of Manhattan Community College . He graduated with honors from BMCC with a degree in liberal arts and as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. A 2009 honors program graduate from American University (AU), Hamissou now holds a degree in international affairs. As an AU student Hamissou interned with the White House Commission on Remembrance, studied in South Africa and participated in a graduate school preparatory program at the University of Michigan as a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow. From 2009 to 2010, Hamissou worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer assisting in the development and training of volunteers serving non-profit organizations in the South Bronx dedicated to improving the "economic and social well-being of low income individuals, families and communities." Today, Hamissou is earning a Master's Degree in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University on a PPIA fellowship. He plans to pursue a career that focuses on conflict resolution in the developing world. He is interested in making education more accessible to young people around the world and ultimately diminish the incidence of war.