For many students, a degree from the University of Toronto is a stepping stone to a great career - but for Binta Bajaha it was a way to make an even larger impact in an already rewarding career.
Bajaha decided to pursue a PhD at U of T's Women & Gender Studies Institute (WGSI) while working as a consultant at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The UN organization assists 80 million people globally each year, delivering emergency food and working with underserved communities to improve nutrition and build resilience - whether that's in the context of climate change or unstable political climates.
"U of T prepared me to play a pivotal role where I'm part of conversations that impact critical change, such as whether somebody is able to eat tonight," says Bajaha, who is now WFP's senior adviser on gender, diversity and environmental sustainability.
"Foreign policies change all the time, but the average human is always full of decency. Every person just needs an opportunity to flourish, which is what we strive to provide every day."
Born in The Gambia, West Africa, Bajaha earned her degrees in the United Kingdom and Canada, starting at age 15.
She says she chose U of T for its outstanding faculty, taking inspiration from a symposium she attended featuring Associate Professor Marieme Lo, director of the African Studies Centre and her eventual PhD supervisor and mentor.
"That talk blew my mind," says Bajaha, who earned her PhD last year. "I had to know more about this professor and the institute."
Bajaha, who paused her WFP work to focus on her dissertation, was the recipient of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council award and African Studies Senior Doctoral Fellowship. She was also chair of the WGSI Graduate Student Union and won the WGSI Student Leadership Award in 2020.
"While at U of T, Binta touched many lives. She distinguishes herself not only by her sheer brilliance and stellar academic achievements, but by her commitment to student mentorship and community citizenship," says Lo.
"I am confident Binta will bring novel approaches to addressing food insecurity and the climate crisis in regions at risk and will promote gender and climate justice to transform lives."
WGSI Director and Professor Alissa Trotz, who is cross appointed to the Centre for Caribbean Studies, describes Binta as a dynamic and leading force at the institute, recalling when she organized a virtual graduate student conference during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Binta is a wonderful example of the remarkable and diverse pathways of our graduates," says Trotz. "She came in with extensive international professional experience and has returned to that work with commitment and fresh insights from her doctoral research."
Mentorship and representation have had a profound impact on Bajaha's journey.
"It's incredible that I never had a Black instructor until U of T," says Bajaha. "To finally have a woman who looked like me, thought like me and spoke like me, and who could teach me at the doctoral level was essential to my growth."
Bajaha says she is conscious of her educational privilege and other spaces she occupies, using her worldview to remind and correct decision-makers on the best approach to operations at WFP - convictions she carries in part from the theoretical knowledge she gained during her PhD studies.
The blend of academic insight and her personal experience has helped shape her unique perspective.
"I was born Gambian, but I also chose to become a Canadian citizen because this country promises what I envision the world should be, with equitable opportunities for all," says Bajaha.
"In that environment, fantastic things are bound to happen."
