Solomon is shy, at first. In a quiet voice he states his age – 15 – and his current grade in school – 5. He sits in a classroom with other students a few years younger because he dropped out of school when he was 11 years old, back when he was still attending the old, dilapidated Girargie school. Solomon returned to school two years later, and although he is now behind his peers in his age group, Solomon is now determine to finish his elementary education at the new school.

“It makes me happy to come here because I want to learn.”

Fittingly, Solomon wants to be a teacher upon graduation. When asked about his favorite subject, mathematics, he begins by writing a set of multiplication tables on the school’s new chalkboards.

He writes 9 X 9 to set up the equation, then without hesitation, he fills in the answer: 81. A proud smile quickly spreads across his face as his initial shyness begins to melt away.

A former dropout, Solomon understands the important role that teachers play in his village as well as so many other villages in Ethiopia. He knows that just as his favorite teacher, Gashot, “gives good advice, [and] is helpful,” it is essential that Ethiopian students receive opportunities to learn and choose for themselves the future of their country.

"I want to teach the younger students how to create a great generation in order to produce skilled men and develop our nation.” he boldly says.