Our 2018-19 winner of the LifeChanger of the Year Grand Prize has been awarded an even bigger honor: the 2021 Global Teacher Prize.
Keishia Thorpe is an English teacher at International High School at Langley Park in Maryland.
We told you a couple of months ago that Keishia was one of 50 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize. And she was just announced as the winner.
The Global Teacher Prize is presented annually to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. It carries a $1 million award.
“Congratulations to Keishia for winning the Global Teacher Prize 2021,” said Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, which administers the international competition. Keishia and the winner of an international student award “show the vital role education plays in tackling the great challenges of today and tomorrow,” Varkey said.
Keishia was chosen for the global prize from among 8,000 nominations and applications from 121 countries around the world.
She is the second LifeChanger Grand Prize winner to be a finalist for the award, although the first to win. Brian Copes, the 2017-18 LCOY winner, was also a global finalist.
As a young woman and immigrant from Jamaica, Keishia dreamed of living the American Dream. She worked very hard to earn a track and field scholarship to a college in the U.S, where she graduated at the top of her class. Since then, she made it her civic and personal responsibility to help others achieve their dreams of going to college, as well.
Today, she has dedicated herself to helping her English language learners level up and prepare for college, an opportunity that most of them did not see as a possibility. She and her sister founded U.S. Elite Track and Field, a non-profit that provides student-athletes an opportunity to use their talents to access scholarships and earn a college diploma debt-free.
Each year, she organizes a Scholarship and Athletic Convention, which brings together college coaches, admissions, and compliance teams to educate student-athletes on recruitment eligibility and ensure they transition to university successfully. The event culminates in a college fair, where student-athletes can interact with college coaches and admissions representatives, often being recruited on the spot.
Feature Photo: LifeChanger of the Year’s 2018-2019 Grand Prize Ceremony at Conference of Champions in Kauai, Hawaii. (L to R: Mallorie Manosh, Mehran Assadi, Keishia Thorpe)