Souleymane Diallo

A rising junior at the University of Rochester (New York), and an African Leadership Academy alumnus and Patrice Lumumba Spirit of Africa awardee, Souleymane was born in Guinea, lived and studied in Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa before attending college, thanks to a full scholarship. He is respectively a 2022 and 2023 Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) and Goldman Sachs Summer Analyst.

Given Guinea’s 2004 political volatility, Souleymane’s family fled and took refuge in Côte d’Ivoire. During the 2010 Ivorian post-electoral crisis, Souleymane experienced first-hand the atrocities of war seeing his best friend instantly killed by a stray bullet, and his parents losing everything with rebels’ looting. Once again, Souleymane and his family fled, reverting to Guinea. These experiences shaped Souleymane’s interests in ethical leadership education which he believes is key to building a peaceful and prosperous nation. As a high school and college first-generation student from a family of 13 children, Souleymane uses his privilege of gaining a good quality education to give back to his community.

With his teammates at GYLI, Souleymane aspires to build the Guinean Leadership Academy, an innovative school that will provide access to a world-class education to Guinea's brightest youths in Guinea, ensure they stay in Guinea, and access the resources they need to develop Guinea on their own terms.