Creating a Life from the Ashes

Dr. Fidele Sebahizi grew up in a poor African village, living and surviving an ethnically- motivated massacre in a United Nations refugee camp of Gatumba in Burundi, Africa. Fidele overcame life obstacles as an immigrant in the United States to achieve the American dream. He became the first immigrant to join and work for the Abilene Police Department in Texas as a police officer and the first member of his ethnic group, the Banyamulenge, in the United States to serve the American community in such a capacity. While working for the APD, Fidele earned multiple degrees: a B.A. in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University in New Hampshire, an M.S. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University in Texas, and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice—Homeland Security from Liberty University in Virginia. A father and a husband, Fidele likes to listen to country music during his free time.