Medjy Pierre-Louis

Medjy Pierre-Louis’ dream of improving educational opportunities for children in developing countries took her far away from friends and family in Miami – to remote villages in Haiti, Jamaica, India and the West African country of Burkina Faso.

Not speaking the local language and having little contact with the outside world was challenging at times. She missed out on some of the more traditional on-campus college experiences.

The support of FIU faculty and staff helped sustain her, she said, as did the experiences of her father, who received only a limited education growing up in Haiti but still found his way to the United States to start a better life and support his family.

Medjy, a Gates Millenium Scholar who received numerous grants and fellowships to conduct her research, said her father’s story motivated her to help other children “rewrite the stories of their future.’’

In addition to receiving a McNair grant, a Global Learning Fellowship and a Purdue University research grant, Medjy presented her research on Haiti and Jamaica at conferences, interned with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Africa and traveled to India to help develop a grassroots curriculum for an NGO, Barefoot College.

After graduation, Medjy plans to pursue a master’s degree in international education and continue her work to build effective educational programs and provide access to education for the most disadvantaged populations around the world.

By Amy Ellis