Colleen Daley

I am an educator with a strong passion for social justice, youth engagement, languages, and religious and cross-cultural dialogue.

The roots of my professional self come from parents who were educators, and who read to us every night as we fell asleep. I believe primarily in the transformative power of my experiences as a youth in service to others, through my Lutheran upbringing and my time at Boston College where the motto was "Men and women for others." In my professional life now, I try to always bring service encounters into the experiences of my students.

The strength and solid core of my convictions comes from my time in the Peace Corps, in a small town outside of Marrakech, Morocco. My cohort and I always say that we became who we wanted to be in Peace Corps, and we will be forever inspired by how Moroccans opened their hearts and homes to us. I take this hospitality with me, this sharing spirit, into my professional life as I always strive to be supportive and sharing with colleagues.

After Peace Corps, I saw the need to branch out and seek new inspiration, and find a way to give back. In seeking a Master's at the University of Pennsylvania, I learned, as one might expect, to understand and teach intercultural theories. Unexpectedly, I learned the depth of injustice that many communities face in the US that I had been privileged not to face growing up. I am still working on what actions I can incorporate into my life to be a better intersectional activist and ally.

And now you'll find me back in Morocco, drawn back by a commitment to grassroots development on the one hand and on the other, a love of teaching about Morocco, Islam, Amazigh and Arabic, and North African history and culture. I have been inspired by my colleagues and students to hold nothing back, invest completely, face my mistakes, and work harder than I ever have before to do my part to, cliche or not, make the world a better place.