Christian Walkes, IRT ’17 PhD, Education Harvard University
Walkes defended his dissertation titled Landscapes of Freedom: Black Educational Architects & Historical Geographies of African American School Grounds.
Emerson Mayorga, IRT ’25 MA, Journalism University of Arizona
Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 and Savita Maharaj, IRT ’21 Leislie and Savita attended the play Lifted by Mfoniso Udofia, a graduate of Wellesley College, who has written the UFOT Family Cycle of 9 plays in May 2026at the Wellesley College Alumnae Hall Auditorium. Lifted addresses Toyima Ufot’s path in academia, which was constructed upon her father’s previous academic research. When she is accused of plagiarism, she travels to Nigeria to uncover her familial history and to find healing. This play spoke to Savita and Leislie deeply, and they will attend the next play titled In Old Age in late June.
Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 and Kevin Olusola In mid-May, Leislie had the opportunity to reconnect with Kevin Olusola, Phillips Academy alum ’06 of Pentatonix fame, who was a student Leislie mentored when he first came to Andover as an 11th grader. Kevin and Leislie shared a commonality -they both lived in Kentucky; Leislie lived in Bowling Green, and Kevin grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky. Kevin performed at Andover’s Cochran Chapel, sharing his unique style of beatboxing and cello musicianship, performing pieces from his new album titled Dawn of a Misfit.
(L-R) Kevin Olusola, Pat Davison, a former Phillips Academy colleague, and Leislie Godo-Solo
Impact refers to a powerful lasting effect/influence that an event, person, or idea has on a situation.
Many alumni have formed lasting friendships, built lifelong connections, found new opportunities, had family members and children go through the program, or even found a partner through IRT. Whatever the impact, share your story with us.
IRT Scholars continue to impress me year after year. Spring is our season of buzz, when scholars reach out to share if they’ve heard back from the schools they applied to. Some navigate interviews, while others send updates on their Scholar Chat. No matter the outcome, I am consistently filled with pride.
Throughout my IRT tenure, higher education has been evolving — from the COVID-19 pandemic to attacks on diversity in education — and it has not been an easy time to stay committed to improving educational outcomes. Yet time and again, I see IRT Scholars not only working hard to submit their applications but also witnessing our alumni make a significant difference in the lives of others.
Institute for Recruitment of Teachers 
You must be logged in to post a comment.