Meet…
Amaha Sellassie, an instructor of sociology at Sinclair Community College.
Why He’s Interesting…
A proud member of the Dayton community, Sellassie uses sociology to promote and develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of diversity amongst his students.
Sellassie grew up in Dayton, and studied business during his time at Sinclair. Out of the classroom, he was very active in his community, helping out however he could.
One day his professors pointed out to him that all the service work he was doing and had a passion about related closer to sociology than business.
With that realization, he changed his major to Sociology and worked to grasp a better understanding of social structure and concepts to create a positive impact on his community. He decided that the best way to know more would be to teach.
“I wanted to learn and share what I’ve learned, and gain knowledge from my students, so I chose to teach,” Sellassie said.
After graduating from Sinclair, he continued his education at Wright State University, before completing his degree at University of Cincinnati.
His next step was coming back to the place he started at, Sinclair, and teaching sociology. He returned to Sinclair to pay it forward to the school he loves.
“I just wanted to give back to this place that opened up so many opportunities for me and I wanted to create opportunities for new students,” he said.
Another reason he loves teaching at Sinclair is the diversity of students on campus.
“There are so many different students of different ethnic groups here, and this is a perfect place for us all to come together,” Sellassie said.
He’s now in his third year of teaching at Sinclair, and he still has many goals he intends to accomplish in the future.
One of which is to develop a deeper level of understanding of diversity on campus and in the community.
He also wishes to create a bigger space for community impact where students of all ethnic groups can come together to solve problems in the Dayton area.
“Get to know your faculty professors and administration to see what opportunities they have to offer you, because that’s how I got my start,” is the advice he has to give to students.
In addition to teaching, Sellassie also holds the position of Chair of the Dayton Human Relations Council, a group that enforces civil rights, and provides assistance to minority-owned and women-owned businesses. They promote peace goodwill and harmony towards Dayton area citizens.
Through it all, he remains committed to helping students explore and develop their passions and interests, and use those for the benefit and advancing of society.
Henry Wolski
Reporter