Twenty-two years ago, I arrived as the unlikeliest Shipley student. I grew up among the poor of the western hemisphere’s poorest country. It was not until the age of twelve that I embraced my biological parents—who had left their first 4 children behind in Haiti for the hope of a better life. By the time I met my family, I was the 3rd oldest kid in what would eventually be a family of sixteen children trying to navigate the complex challenges of inner-city Philadelphia. You see, I came to Shipley with the hope to become the first in my family to even attempt to attend college. But soon I began to understand what my personal success would mean would mean for others in my own community. Succeeding at Shipley and beyond would give me the testimony to strengthen the hopes of not just of my own siblings, but also others in a larger community of Haitian Americans of immigrant families who lacked role models, self-confidence, and even awareness of life outside the spiritual, social, and economic poverty of their environment.
To accomplish this, I needed the transforming power of my personal faith in God. I also needed the help a collective set of people, who though strangers at first, would soon become “family” through their compassionate embrace of kid with the longest of odds. This award may bear name, but I accept it as a celebration of the larger Shipley community who make it possible. This award is for Mr. Coleman, the Admissions Director at that time, who believed in not just who I was twenty-two years ago, but in whom I could become. He was the “uncle “ that helped me navigate some my toughest times while at Shipley. The name of late Dr. Owens should also be on this award. I recalled his compassion on the day of my darkest hour at Shipley, when the tears of despair flow down my face during a physics class. And his wife, Dr. Judy Owens, exhibited the though-loving affirmation of a “mother” that helped steered me through my four years at Haverford College. While at Shipley, no other teacher showed more confidence in me than Mrs. Wampler. During my senior year, with her encouraging smile, she reminded me often that I was going to be a “big time doctor. ” Of course, I cannot forget the encouraging relationships of Dr. Piltch, my classmates, soccer teammates, and the larger Shipley family.

The two years I spent at Shipley felt like a lifetime—an eternity of maturing my work ethic, of growing my self-confidence, and of even resetting my aspirations towards even greater goals. Shipley was and still remains one of the finest academic institution in the region. My story here twenty years ago is not solely defined by the fine academic preparation hat shaped the rest of my academic career. To me it will always be a story of how initial strangers—both classmates and teachers alike—through a genuine and kind spirit, became a “family” that shaped who I am today as person and professional. So, with personal gratitude from my wonderful wife Guerda and my three lovely girls, Joceline, Gislaine, and Abigail, I thank you all.

Twenty-two years ago, I arrived as the unlikeliest Shipley student. I grew up among the poor of the western hemisphere’s poorest country. It was not until the age of twelve that I embraced my biological parents—who had left their first 4 children behind in Haiti for the hope of a better life. By the time I met my family, I was the 3rd oldest kid in what would eventually be a family of sixteen children trying to navigate the complex challenges of inner-city Philadelphia. You see, I came to Shipley with the hope to become the first in my family to even attempt to attend college. But soon I began to understand what my personal success would mean would mean for others in my own community. Succeeding at Shipley and beyond would give me the testimony to strengthen the hopes of not just of my own siblings, but also others in a larger community of Haitian Americans of immigrant families who lacked role models, self-confidence, and even awareness of life outside the spiritual, social, and economic poverty of their environment.
To accomplish this, I needed the transforming power of my personal faith in God. I also needed the help a collective set of people, who though strangers at first, would soon become “family” through their compassionate embrace of kid with the longest of odds. This award may bear name, but I accept it as a celebration of the larger Shipley community who make it possible. This award is for Mr. Coleman, the Admissions Director at that time, who believed in not just who I was twenty-two years ago, but in whom I could become. He was the “uncle “ that helped me navigate some my toughest times while at Shipley. The name of late Dr. Owens should also be on this award. I recalled his compassion on the day of my darkest hour at Shipley, when the tears of despair flow down my face during a physics class. And his wife, Dr. Judy Owens, exhibited the though-loving affirmation of a “mother” that helped steered me through my four years at Haverford College. While at Shipley, no other teacher showed more confidence in me than Mrs. Wampler. During my senior year, with her encouraging smile, she reminded me often that I was going to be a “big time doctor. ” Of course, I cannot forget the encouraging relationships of Dr. Piltch, my classmates, soccer teammates, and the larger Shipley family.

The two years I spent at Shipley felt like a lifetime—an eternity of maturing my work ethic, of growing my self-confidence, and of even resetting my aspirations towards even greater goals. Shipley was and still remains one of the finest academic institution in the region. My story here twenty years ago is not solely defined by the fine academic preparation hat shaped the rest of my academic career. To me it will always be a story of how initial strangers—both classmates and teachers alike—through a genuine and kind spirit, became a “family” that shaped who I am today as person and professional. So, with personal gratitude from my wonderful wife Guerda and my three lovely girls, Joceline, Gislaine, and Abigail, I thank you all.