Working Together for a Common Good

October, 2010

The International Exchange Center is proud to announce Josue Jeanty as this month’s Exchange Visitor of the Month. Each month, we select an exchange visitor who has made an effort to get involved in his/her community and explore American culture.

Josue came to the United States from Haiti in August of this year. Holding a degree in Environmental Science from his home university, Josue is doing his internship with Custom Polymers, a plastic recycling company in North Carolina. He hopes to be able to use what he learns about recycling to improve the pollution situation in Haiti, a country which currently does not have a recycling system.

Through his internship in North Carolina, Josue has learned the ins and outs of the plastic recycling process; everything from distinguishing between plastic types to plastic grinding, washing and baling. “All those things shaped my mind to how to use them in my county”. Josue will finish his internship by visiting Custom Polymers’ Alabama plant to see the very beginning stages of the plastic recycling process.

The idea for this internship was born when friends of Josue’s supervisor went to Haiti to help after the earthquake earlier this year. Josue was their translator. They got to know him over their time there and could see that he had a heart for helping his country. Upon returning home they contacted their friends at Custom Polymers to tell them about Josue, and the rest is history. You can read more about Josue’s inspiring story in this article from the Charlotte Observer newspaper: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/10/02/1734211/new-hope-for-haiti-via-charlotte.html.

When not at his internship Josue has enjoyed getting to know American culture. One of these activities is learning to appreciate American football. “I used to watch football on TV in my country but I could not understand it and I used to turn the TV off. Now I have another point of view about it and I really like watching it now.” He also shares his home culture with his coworkers and friends, teaching them about the languages spoken (French and Creole) the music, and the food!

The main aim of coming to the US on a J-1 visa is to foster an exchange of ideas and culture. Josue has embraced this goal saying what makes a successful program “is the implementation of what [you] have learned from US in [your] home country to create something that has not existed before.”

Would you like to be featured as our next Exchange Visitor of the Month? Let us know what you are doing -- send us an email with your story and a picture to [email protected].