Tecle Gebremicheal

Tecle Gebremicheal
Honorary Delegate
Resettled Refugee from Ethiopia

Tecle Gebremicheal is a Refugee Congress Honorary Delegate. He is a former refugee from Ethiopia who came to the U.S. eight years ago with an empty pocket and only eight years of formal education. It has taken time, determination and a lot of hard work to accomplish career and educational success, and he continues to forge ahead with determination and resilience.

Today, Tecle is pursuing his Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) at Boise State University and works at Connections and Intervention Station Boise under Geo Group, Inc. He also serves with the United States Army Reserves. When he was still quite new to the U.S., he went on a field trip from the English Language Center where refugees learn English to Boise State University. At the end of the trip, he whispered to himself, “This is the school where I will finish my higher education.”

For a refugee who did not speak English fluently and had only attended eight years of formal school, those words might have sounded like an unrealistic dream. However, only a few years later, he earned his GED and enrolled at the College of Western Idaho. Two years later, he transferred to the school he had daydreamed of, Boise State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in May 2020 and is now pursuing his master’s.

Tecle is a Board Member of the Idaho Walk Bike Alliance and proudly serves as a mentor for the Boards and Commissions Fellowship Program at Conservation Voters for Idaho. He ran for Boise City Council during the 2019 municipal election. Although he was not successful in winning a seat on the City Council, his campaign established a new chapter in Boise, as he was the first person of color and former refugee to run in the city’s history.

Tecle’s hobbies include running/mountain biking, reading history books and writing poetry. For him, running through the trails on the hills surrounding Boise is a meditation that revives life. He finds history fascinating, including the great and tragic moments and the way we seem to repeat history again and again.

“This country has changed the lives of millions of refugees, and I got to be one of the lucky refugees to enter the land of opportunity. Though refugees have done significant jobs in this country, we don’t often have a space where we can share our experiences among people who can fully understand and relate to it. That is what Refugee Congress has become: a place where refugees come together to share stories, support each other and advocate for fellow refugees in this country and beyond.”

In the News:

Do you want to invite Gebremicheal to speak at an upcoming event?  Please fill out this contact form (reporters, please call 202-905-6238 for time-sensitive requests).