SAHAN JOURNAL — Abdirizak Abdi’s parents never received a formal education growing up in Somalia. Schooling wasn’t available to everyone, and they couldn’t afford it. Even so, his father was an educator, teaching Islamic studies to children learning the Quran and the Arabic alphabet.
“My mother didn’t have the opportunity to be able to go to school,” Abdirizak said. “I remember her words: ‘If you want to reach the moon, you have to get an education.’”
Having succeeded at school, Abdirizak never actually left it. Last week, he began his position as principal of Humboldt High School, in St. Paul. Local education rosters suggest he represents one of the first two public school principals of Somali descent in Minnesota—and possibly the country.
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He grew up mostly in Kenya, after his family fled civil war in Somalia. He moved to the United States only after he turned 19. Abdirizak, who goes by Abdi, lived briefly in San Diego and Minneapolis before moving to St. Cloud.
There, he enrolled in St. Cloud State University. His grade point average put him in the top 5 percent of his class, and he thought he’d pursue a master’s in business administration.
