Throughout her childhood in Haiti, Schneidine Louis competed as a top-ranked tennis player and hoped to pursue a career as a professional athlete. Sports would provide a portal to discover the world. Louis possessed the talent and drive but lacked the support to make headway toward that goal. Traveling to international tournaments and paying for coaching, clothing, and gear would have been expensive, and beyond that, competitions were not offering prize purses to female athletes.
“They gave trophies and nothing else,” she said.
When Louis was 19 years old and enrolled at a university, she was asked to play in a championship. But while the male players would earn a payday, the women would not. She attempted to coordinate a boycott with the other high-performing females so that together, they could demand compensation for the tournament—but that fizzled out. After that, Louis quit professional tennis and fully focused on her studies in diplomacy and international relations.
She also earned an associate degree in journalism and spent a year working in radio and TV, hosting community shows and talking to people about Haitian politics, business, and the social environment. In 2019, she moved to the U.S. to become vice consul at the Consulate General of Haiti in Atlanta. She interfaced with Haitian businesses interested in expanding to the U.S. and served as the point of contact for community leaders and key stakeholders in foreign, federal, and state governments.
In August 2022, Louis sought to improve her ability to advise Haitian business leaders and entered the Master of International Business (MIB) program at Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business.
“It was a good opportunity to help people in my community understand the U.S. market, and to help others understand the Haitian market,” she said.
Louis explored other schools but chose Robinson because of its diversity and flexibility; she could work full-time while taking classes, and the program only took one year to complete.
During her first semester, Louis found herself feeling uncharacteristically shy and hesitant to speak up in class because she wasn’t totally confident in her English. However, one conversation with Issam Moussaoui, a clinical assistant professor in Robinson’s Department of Management, changed her perspective.
“He said, ‘French is also my native language, and right now you are speaking to me in English, and we understand each other well,’” Louis recalled. “It was a wake-up call for me to embrace what sets me apart.”
Her language skills proved to be a boon throughout her studies. Louis received two scholarships that enabled her to participate in a two-week study abroad excursion to Morocco. Since French is commonly spoken in North Africa and Louis was the only French-speaking student on the trip, she became the group’s de facto translator.
“In that moment, I realized that what makes me different is also useful,” she said.
Although Louis already felt confident in her interpersonal abilities and cultural awareness, she strengthened and expanded her toolkit at Robinson. She was chosen to be the project manager for a final team assignment, acting as consultant to four companies aiming to do business in Georgia. Her group conducted market research and helped tailor and open a co-living/co-working space for refugees in Clarkston, a city just outside Atlanta. That experience fortified her leadership skills, and she still lists it on her resume.
“I learned to make strategic decisions based on data, not on my emotions or personal opinions,” she said.
Louis lost her job in November 2023, but pivoted and hit the ball that flew into her court.
After graduating in May 2023, she landed a position at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. As director of the Small Business Development Center’s International Trade Center, she supports local entrepreneurs and business owners in their efforts to grow their global footprint.
“The program was intense, and I sacrificed a lot,” she said. “In a way, I had to leave my friends and social life, but I made it. I consider it a huge achievement.”