Soldiers for the Future of Haiti
Two LCS Scholarship Recipients, Pierre Carlos Lucio and Laguerre Gesline, are honored to stand with school administration in front of their fellow graduates.
This year’s 44 graduates of Class Perenne-Apex became the first double-section class to graduate from LCS. The Class of 2009 joins the Class of 1995, the first class to graduate, the Class of 2003, the first class to be formed for seven years in the mission to give as a gift what you receive as gift, and the Class of 2008, the last single-sectioned class to graduate—all historic markers in the Project’s progress. Graduation from secondary school in Haiti is uncommon enough, but this year is extra special given the jump in numbers.
To put this historic moment in perspective, we contacted members of the classes of 1995, 2003, and 2008. Conversations with past graduates quickly revealed what every graduate from LCS has in common: LCS grads are serious about rebuilding their country. The Haitian Project is proud of the young men and women who continue to meet the rigorous demands of the national exams and exit the campus gates with a diploma in hand and a mission in their hearts.
In 1995, Admaricarte Jean-Baptiste graduated with the first class. Like all LCS students, she honed her French, English and Spanish skills during her seven years at the school. She continued her love for languages at the Ecole Normale Supérieure University in Haiti and graduated in 1999. Later, she returned to LCS to head the Language Department. “Admaricarte is such a strong woman. As a teacher, she handled herself with great poise and compassion, and she was a good role model for the young women at LCS,” said former volunteer teacher Mary Jo [Scordato] LeGrand.
Jean-Baptiste currently works for American Airlines at Toussaint Louverture Airport in Port-au-Prince. Her use of language has moved from academic to practical, but she continues to be a role model for younger women. “As a female student, Louverture Cleary meant a lot to me. It changed my life. It encouraged me to make a lot of effort to succeed at University and in the workplace. In Haiti, it seems that men are considered to be the head, not only of the family, but also of women. Louverture Cleary made me feel proud of myself as a woman, and has showed me how to convince other girls to be proud of themselves, too,” Jean-Baptiste said.
In 2003, Théony Deshommes, AKA “Spaghetti,” received his LCS diploma. He also received the first THP scholarship given at graduation. He is now a fifth year medical student at UNDH. When he was an incoming sizyem student, his friends used to call him Spaghetti because he was so thin. Over the years, the once thin boy has become a man of great intellectual and physical weight.
When asked how LCS has helped him become who he is today, Deshommes said, “First, LCS has helped me follow the path to Jesus. Second, they gave me a good education, taught me how to live in a community, how to be ready to help, and how to see difficulties and solve the problem. Now I am going to be able to help people in my country for the rest of my life.” In 2008, Fritz Sylfat graduated as one of the 27 students of Class Renaissance. When asked what his class name means, Sylfat said, “It relates to the great period of the sixteenth century when people abandoned the barbarous era to give place to reason and science. We have chosen this name because we think Haiti must be renewed - renewed for its economic, environmental and political situations that have been degraded. It is mandatory for to contribute this renewal.”
With support from a THP scholarship, Sylfat now attends Quisqueya, where he studies Industrial Engineering. “It is a very challenging option, so I think I will be able to accomplish wonderful things,” he said. Sylfat originally came to LCS because he could not afford to pay for a good education. Over the years, he has acquired responsibility and leadership qualities that have made him the person he is today. “[LCS] has helped me become the intelligent man I am today because I have received a solid foundation that combines theory and practice,” he said.
In 2009, Obed Gilles, Ti Ekol teacher and Missionaries of Charity volunteer, proudly stood in front of his 44 classmates and received his LCS diploma. Eight years ago, he never would have thought that he would meet a challenge like life at LCS. “Before coming to LCS, I was a student who was carefree. Nothing was important to me but playing. I also used to follow the others in their bad ways. Now I have learned so much, which has made me who I am today. Who am I then? I am someone who knows that time is precious, that I should freely give what I have freely received. I am someone who can live in community and share with others what I have. LCS has helped me become a leader.”
Gilles plans to study social work and agriculture at a public university. He would like to receive his masters but utilize his skills for the good of his fellow citizens. “All I will do will be done in a way to participate in rebuilding Haiti,” he said. “Lots of people often talk about living in the U.S. or in other countries, but I would not be able to live in another country that is not Haiti. Haiti is my homeland. I consider it my mother.”
Asked to offer advice to incoming students, Gilles said, “Do not waste even one moment of the time you spend at LCS. Try to pass all seven years of studies because I do not think you will be able to find another institution like LCS in the whole country. LCS is a way of life – if you follow its rules and work hard, you will succeed in life.”
