Jessica Toussaint moved from Haiti to the United States eight years ago armed with a spirited determination to succeed as a high school student and with a goal to attend college.
“I was just so excited because back home they said that coming to America, it’s just like the land of milk and honey,” she said.
But Toussaint, who this month becomes the sixth of her eight siblings to graduate from Perimeter College, faced a hefty challenge from the start. She spoke only French and Haitian Creole when arriving in the states in 2008 and learned quickly she’d have to work extra hard to master English and do well in her studies.
“It was not easy,” the now 25-year-old admitted.
Thanks to a special high school recovery program Perimeter College was offering at the time, Toussaint graduated from high school and started taking full semesters at Perimeter. While in college, she relied heavily on TRIO Student Support Services, which offers students tutoring, mentoring and study skills.
When the conversation turns to her career aspirations, Toussaint speaks enthusiastically.
“This is what I was born to do,” she said of her goal to become a medical social worker advocating for children in hospital settings.
The next stop for Toussaint is Georgia State’s Atlanta campus, where she’ll work toward earning first her bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree in social work. Several of her siblings already have received their bachelor’s degrees from Georgia State and a younger brother will graduate with his associate degree from Perimeter in 2017.