WORCESTER, MA – November 12, 2024 – Quinsigamond Community College has announced Ayman Abdelgadir as the recipient of its most recent Community Impact Awards. Abdelgadir received the award in response to his work with African Community Education (ACE), an organization that aims to empower African refugee and immigrant youth through educational, leadership and cultural programming.
Abdelgadir has been volunteering with ACE since 2009, becoming the volunteer and mentoring coordinator in 2019. His role includes recruiting volunteers and mentors for ACE’s programs to assist with academic support, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and career development. He is also the head coach of the ACE youth soccer team.
“I take pride in working with all newcomers to the community and helping them flourish to their full potential. It brings me tremendous joy to see both the youth and adults continuously reach new milestones and build a successful future,” said Abdelgadir.
The Community Impact Award is a project developed by QCC's Director of Community Engagement Sean Harris in 2023. An award is given out during each athletic season to highlight individuals and/or organizations in Central Massachusetts who do impactful work with young people from underserved communities.
“I garnered feedback from our student-athletes and Ayman’s name came up repeatedly from his work with the ACE soccer team. Not only that, but also his reputation precedes him in local community organizations. Everyone has high regard for Ayman,” Harris said.
Abdelgadir was born in Sudan and raised in Worcester, receiving two graduate degrees from Clark University. He appreciated QCC’s recognition of community development organizations and praised progress made by the many groups in the city.
“I share this award with every staff member at ACE and the other organizations in Worcester that are doing phenomenal work. In this field, we don’t compete with each other, we work together,” said Abdelgadir.