The child of diplomats, Gilles Amadou Ouedraogo (M.D.P. ’13) moved often during his childhood, attending school in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and in his hometown of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, before attending Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, for his undergraduate studies.
His interest in international development started during his college years when he studied abroad in Bangalore, India. While there, Ouedraogo took a course titled Social Justice, Peace, and Development. “We learned about what communities in Asia go through, how development really needs to happen from within, and that change needs to essentially include involvement from communities if you want to see lasting change,” he says. “It really needs to come from the grassroots level.”
