March 31, 2026 – ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – In its 10th anniversary year, Addis Ababa-based Studio Samuel Girls Academy (SSGA), a nonprofit advancing girls’ education and employable skills, closed its Women’s History Month career exploration series on March 28 with a live virtual session featuring Professor Donald Johanson, the paleoanthropologist who discovered the 3.2-million-year-old fossil known globally as “Lucy” and in Ethiopia as “Dinkinesh.”
The closing session brought together 20 students with interests in history, archaeology, and cultural preservation. In preparation, they visited the Lucy (Dinkinesh) exhibit at the National Museum in Addis Ababa and conducted independent research on the fossil’s global significance.
That preparation led to a direct conversation with Donald Johanson, who shared insights from his career and the discovery that reshaped the understanding of human origins, followed by an engaging Q&A with the SSGA students.
As students leaned into the conversation, their questions reflected a natural connection to his story—young women living and learning at the center of human origin, where history is not distant, but deeply personal.
“Discovery comes from preparation, persistence, and curiosity,” said Johanson. “There is no single problem in this world we can’t solve through education.”
The moment carried particular significance in Ethiopia, widely recognized as the birthplace of humanity. For SSGA students, engaging directly with this history reinforces a central belief of the organization: investing in girls strengthens our shared global future.
Closing the session, Johanson reflected, “We are united by our shared past—and our common destiny will be crafted by all of humanity.”
In a full-circle connection across music, history, and mission, SSGA’s Global Ambassador, Julian Lennon, links the story of ‘Lucy’ back to Ethiopia. The fossil was named after “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by The Beatles—a song inspired by a childhood drawing by Lennon. Through his foundation, The White Feather Foundation, which helped open SSGA’s training center a decade ago and continues to support students through the Cynthia Lennon Scholarship for Girls, that story now extends into opportunity for the next generation.
Throughout March, SSGA students — ages 12–18 and many the first in their family to consider higher education — engaged with professionals across creative industries, technology, aviation, and entrepreneurship at organizations including Creative Hub Ethiopia, ICE Addis, Zeleman Academy, and Ethiopian Airlines, supported through SSGA’s connection with EthioJobs.
The exposure went beyond information. It was about reshaping what these young women believe is available to them. Shared one SSGA student, “I learned that listening to my inner voice is important and not to be afraid of it. These opportunities can be possible for me.”
The Women’s History Month series reflects SSGA’s broader approach: pairing real-world exposure with mentorship to expand access, build confidence, and support girls in shaping their own futures.
About Studio Samuel Girls Academy
Studio Samuel Girls Academy opened its doors in 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a mission to empower girls through education and employable skills. Its flagship program, Training for Tomorrow, operates alongside formal schooling, providing mentoring, counseling, vocational and digital training, self-defense, and healthcare access.
Over the past decade, the organization has reached more than 25,000 girls, helping them stay in school, advance academically, and pursue higher education and employment opportunities. Its vocational arm, the Studio Samuel Institute of Design + Technology, launched in 2019 and has since expanded pathways for young women into skilled work.
Founded by Tamara Horton, Studio Samuel Girls Academy is grounded in a community-led model and the belief that education is protection for girls—creating safer, more stable futures and breaking cycles of poverty, early marriage, and exploitation.
Studio Samuel Girls Academy is a featured organization of the Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation.
~ for more information, please contact: Sarah Landy, sarah@studiosamuel.org
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