A Leader for Senegal
Nominated one of the 10 most influential women in Senegal, Amy Sarr Fall was named "Woman of the Year" by the Calebasse Awards in 2016. Having completed her undergraduate studies at AUP in 2003 and, three years later, a Master's degree in the MAGC program, Amy Sarr Fall's achievements now stretch across three continents. Invited by the Civic Media Lab, Amy returned to speak at AUP earlier this month, where she explained how she used to introduce herself: "My name is Amy and I'm from Senegal. That’s how I asked people to call me.”
Image Credit: http://amysarrfall.com
After an education at an international school in Dakar, Amy came to Paris to complete a double major at AUP. She spoke very fondly of her time amongst the AUP community. "I was working with people who were curious to find out about Africa and that made me feel comfortable," she remembered. After graduation, she took a job in communications at an IT firm in New York City, feeling that she had found exactly what she wanted. However, during the following months she felt a void.
“My first grade from Professor Doyle was a C. I was so stressed! My last grade with him was an A and that was my thesis.”
Image Credit: http://amysarrfall.com
Ready to return back to her homeland of Senegal, Amy ran into a homeless person on her way home from work. He was pushing a shopping cart with relentless, slow forward motion. Amy found something in this momentary notion, "He wasn't complaining, he wasn't stopping even though it was cold and dark..." and that was her epiphany.
Thereafter, Amy decided to move back to Dakar because she could not stay away. Her heart was in Senegal and she wanted to give back to society.
Moving away from her work as a communications consultant, she threw herself into journalism. She was the first woman to invest in a media platform and founded a weekly magazine, Intelligences, published in French. With humble beginnings, Intelligences, was written and published entirely by Amy. Today, the publication boasts a staff of 30 people and she has launched a second magazine publication dedicated to the empowerment of women, Ambitions. In 2012, she created a conference which annually brings together 2,000 bright-eyed students from all over the country. La Grande Rentrée Citoyenne features pioneers from various fields who have made a positive difference in their respective communities.
Image Credit: https://www.facebook.com/amysarrfallofficiel/
Today, Amy's travels take in speaking engagements at Harvard and Stanford universities. Shortly after this present trip back to her alma mater, she will be back in Paris to receive an award from UNESCO. Amongst recent career highlights, she related having overcome her phobia of heights to travel all the way up to a mountain top to meet and interview the Dalai Lama."I feel like no one should say something is impossible. My dream was to make a better image of my continent, a better image of the people of my continent, and my motivation is so great that nothing becomes impossible."
