Kendra Jean - Haitian

Kendra in Worthington

I’m from Thomassique, a small town located in central Haiti, where I lived until I was about 12. I mostly lived with my grandma, aunts and uncles while my mom traveled for work. I was the only niece around, so I felt very loved and valued.

School was a 15-minute walk, and I had the same teacher for almost six years, which was great, he really understood us. Around the time I finished elementary school at age 12, my mom began her journey to the U.S. High schools in Thomassique weren’t great, and it would’ve been hard to pass the national exam needed for university. So, I moved to Port-au-Prince to live with my godmother, where I fit right in with the rest of the family.

That’s when I truly realized my mom wouldn’t be around anymore, which was emotionally hard. But she always stayed in touch and supported me from afar. In 2010, after the earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, I returned to Thomassique. Life there was simpler and safer, and many people also left the capital. I finished high school in Hinche, a bigger town about 35 minutes away.

In Haiti, education is everything. People often say, "Education is the key, education is the path." If your family isn’t wealthy, education is your only path forward. Many people study multiple careers just to stay hopeful, since jobs are scarce. School isn't expensive, but living in the city having to cover rent, food & transport, makes it hard, and families work incredibly hard to make it happen.

I once dreamed of studying international relations to become a diplomat, but that path is limited to one or two expensive private schools in Haiti. Still, I’ve always felt I have a gift for languages and connecting with people. I believed that with those skills, I could help influence decisions to improve my country.

We learned in school that Haiti is an agricultural country, but there’s very little infrastructure to support it. Farming families continue it, but most young people want to leave for bigger towns to study or live. Farming is still seen as important, but not enough is done to move the country forward.

I earned admission to the University of the State of Haiti and started at the Faculty of Human Sciences. In the first two years, you don’t have to pick a major. Later you can choose between psychology, communication, or journalism. I wanted psychology, but a few months after I started, everything stopped because of strikes, teacher protests, and gas crises. When fuel prices rise, transportation stops, teachers can’t afford to come, and students protest.

During this time, I was contacted about a scholarship to Mexico as part of the “Programa de 300 Becas para Haití.” They contacted my father because I had one of the highest scores on the national exam. Suddenly, we were deep in the process gathering all my documents, school records, medical exam, police certificate, and everything else required for the scholarship, all within days of being notified. If anything was missing, we would have to start over the next day and that meant spending resources we didn’t have.

Out of 800 applicants, only 94 were selected. We were given a practice test with shapes, logic, reading comprehension all in poorly translated Spanish to French. My friends and I studied hard together. It was a long wait, from February to August. I was still hoping school in Haiti would reopen, but in July, my aunt received the call that I had passed the scholarship exam. From there, we started preparing everything for travel. The process included my documents at the Mexican Embassy. I was excited; growing up watching Mexican telenovelas, I thought I’d be living in a hacienda!

I left Haiti Early August 2014. My plan was always to study abroad and return home to be part of the hands that would rebuild Haiti, and this scholarship meant I had a real opportunity at that.

After arriving in Mexico, I started school at CEPE (Centro de Estudios para Extranjeros) which is part of UNAM in Taxco, where we took Spanish, Mexican history, geography, and culture courses for four months. Our classes were intensive, and although I had studied Spanish before in Haiti, my skills improved a lot.

After Taxco, I moved to Nayarit and began studying Tourism Management. Then in 2018 I completed my internship at a hotel where I was hired in part because of my French-speaking skills. That is why I love languages; they can open so many doors for you. I later moved to Celaya, Guanajuato, where my now husband was studying Environmental Engineering.

We lived in Celaya from 2018 until 2020, then moved to Querétaro in 2021, where I worked as a Customer Care Representative for Ria Money Transfer, and my husband joined a trainee program at Pilgrims, a JBS’ sister company. He then  got transferred to JBS in the U.S., first in Ottumwa, IA, then in Worthington, MN where he had the opportunity to become the plant’s first Environmental Manager.

In Worthington, we found a welcoming community. People were kind, the town, diverse, and we felt it was a place where our family, especially our daughter could flourish. Some connections were incredibly helpful with connecting us with schools, daycare options, and even job leads for me. I came across Kivu Law, where I now work as a Senior Legal Assistant.

Future Goals + Hopes for Worthington

Today, I’m focused on stability and growth for my family. I haven't returned to Haiti for a couple of years because of worsening conditions; there’s been no president for four years, and security is very low. I want to return home one day, when it is safe enough to take my family. Meanwhile, our parents visit us here in Worthington and we keep in touch with other family members until we can reunite.

As for Worthington, I see that the City is trying to become inclusive of all diversities that make up our community but there’s still room for improvement on both ends. There are often programs or support available, but not many take advantage of them because they don’t know or are afraid of not fitting in. I hope both sides continue making efforts toward better inclusion and engagement.