Nayoung & Rama: Best Friends Forever!

February is Heart Month at The Worthy Educator, honoring those special colleagues who make a difference in our lives and careers, celebrating how longterm, loyal, caring, nurturing, professional friendships enhance

our experience as professionals!

Nayoung Kim-Weaver pays tribute to Rama Ndiaye:

My treasured colleague, Rama Ndiaye, is someone whose friendship and partnership I deeply value. Our journey began as two of the few teachers of color at our school in China, where we bonded over shared experiences with racism and child safeguarding issues. Over time, we became accountability partners and co-conspirators in the fight for educational equity, actively challenging oppressive systems.

Because of my friendship with Rama, I did something I’d never done before: I flew to another country just to be with a friend. I’ve visited people in their homes before, and I’ve hosted friends myself, but this was different - this was choosing to vacation together, intentionally, simply to spend time side by side. We shared an Airbnb, ate together, lingered over long conversations, laughed until we cried, and reminisced about who we were when we first met and who we’ve become since.What made it so meaningful wasn’t a single dramatic moment, but the ease and safety of being fully ourselves - educator selves, tired selves, joyful selves - without explanation. It reminded me how rare and sustaining it is to have a friendship that holds both professional solidarity and deep personal care. That trip felt like a quiet affirmation: that relationships built in challenging educational spaces can grow into something enduring, nourishing, and life-giving.

Rama’s unwavering commitment to anti-racist education and her steadfast belief in the humanity of every individual continue to inspire me. For example, her work with her third-grade students to create a video in response to a colorist incident at school demonstrates her dedication to empowering her students and challenging bias. We've collaborated on numerous projects, from co-founding the Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance (IDEA), to dreaming and presenting together the "AIELOC Academy," to co-authoring articles, including our work on the "English-Only Policy as a Tool for Systemic Oppression", and the presentation we did on "Culturally and Conceptually Sustaining Math Practices."

As cultural wealth practitioners, we collaborate to center the voices and experiences of BIPOC educators and students, and to dismantle oppressive systems within our institutions. Rama's tenacity, her ability to inspire action through dialogue, and her dedication to lifelong learning are qualities that I deeply admire and that have pushed me to grow both professionally and personally. She is a true leader, and I am grateful to have her as a colleague and friend.

Nayoung Kim-Weaver

A Worthy Educator

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See our entire celebration of #edufriends and share your tribute to a special colleague or group of peers here so that we can honor you and them!