Lekòl ak Lavi: "Schooling through life while Haitian"

Three Months and Counting…

Three months! I have been living in Haiti for 3 months now and it feels like I’ve been here for a whole year. My first week alone was a very comprehensive “Welcome to Haiti” experience. Co-workers have joked that what I’ve endured, some Haitians would come to experience only over a lifetime. Being here for…

Deny the Impostor Syndrome

It’s like clockwork. At the end of each academic school year, I’m always over it. But I usually bounce back after that last final exam. But this time, it’s different. I officially transitioned from a PhD student to a PhD candidate as of May 1st and from that day on it’s like everything changed….

Hey Sis!

Sis!!! Here’s the word. Surround yourself with women who are going to support you, but still call you out when you’re looking “crazy”. Let me tell you how I love the young women that I grew up with. There is something about having friends that you have known since childhood that doesn’t compare. Now here’s the background…

She Was, and She Still Is…

She was beautiful, with ebony skin that would glow in the summer sun. She was brilliant, an analytical mind with an ingenious point of view. She was powerful, her presence alone commanded respect. She was a young woman, searching for a place while searching for herself. And there he was, allured by all she was. He pursued her. Though reluctant,…

Kenep! The Fruit of My Life.

Listen! There is this fruit that I overly adore! I’ve only known how to say it in Kreyòl. So I googled it. Turns out, the scientific name is Melicoccus bijugatus and commonly referred to as “Spanish Lime” in the United States. But in Kreyòl, we call it “kenep”. I fell in love with this fruit when I…

Ph.D.? Research?

I often hear the question, “what is a Ph.D.”? Or when I tell someone that I’m doing my Ph.D. in Public Health, they ask me, “can you prescribe and see patients”? No lol I have to then explain that I’m not “that kind of doctor”. I’m not studying to be a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.),…

Taking A Mental Break

The first semester of my Ph.D. started off and ended well. However, I couldn’t say the same about my second semester. On January 15, 2017, a close family friend passed away, and the next morning, on the 16th, I woke up to find that my grandmother had also passed away. Many people, besides my closest…

Why Does Representation Matter?

I’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by cool and educated friends, especially those who are doctors and lawyers in training. Can we say free medical and legal advise?! What I love even more is that they are all young, black, and Haitian. One time for the culture! It’s great to know that my friends are making it…

Dating Medicine.

You know what’s hard? Relationships. Relationships are hardddddd. You know what’s even harder, dating someone in the medical field. Bruh! My boyfriend of over 5 1/2 years is a 4th year M.D. student. Which means that when he graduates, it only seems fit that I should be presented with an honorary medical doctorate. But I digress….

That Ph.D. Life

One more year of coursework. 🎓

KORE Haiti, Inc. Here We Go Again! 🇭🇹

Here we go again, to Haiti for our 2017 medical mission trip. Alongside Geraldine, Watson, Paulin and Dejon, we led another team to Haiti to serve the community of St. Michel de l’Attalaye. This was my favorite team to work with thus far. It must have been the rainbow of fun personalities, because we all meshed…