Another former LifeChanger of the Year Grand Prize Winner is being recognized with more awards and honors.
Keishia Thorpe, who teaches 12th grade English at the International High School Langley Park in Bladensburg, Maryland, won LifeChanger’s top prize for the 2018-19 school year.
Now she’s among 50 finalists for the annual Global Teacher Prize offered by the Varkey Foundation, an award that carries a $1 million award.
The Varkey prize, touted as the “Nobel Prize for teaching,” honors educators from around the world. There were 800 applications this year from 121 countries.
Another previous LifeChanger of the Year winner, Brian Copes of Alabama, is also a past finalist for the Global Teacher Prize. He won the LifeChanger award in 2017-18.
Keishia is a native of Jamaica and she came to the United States for college on a track and field scholarship. She eventually entered education to help students who, like her, are immigrants who might be struggling with language and discrimination.
Over her 16 years in the profession, she has continued to help students, including by leading a nonprofit called US Elite International Track and Field Inc., which provides at-risk student-athletes the opportunity to go to college.
She also founded the Hope Beyond Distance Foundation and Food4Change to support immigrant students and their families.
That kind of advocacy earned her recognition from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who presented her with the Maryland Medal of Excellence in July.
She was also an advocate for Gov. Hogan in providing funding for low-income students so they could take Advanced Placement courses and become competitive with White students in access to scholarships and collect applications.