I wanted to take this post to talk a little bit about myself for those that may not know me personally. I was born in France but I spent the early part of my childhood in Port-au-Prince Haiti. Our Family left for the US during civil unrest in 1991 and I’ve been here ever since. I come from a big family so loneliness is not something I’m familiar with. I have an older sister, older brother, 3 younger sisters and a younger brother.
I graduated Claremont High School (Wolfpack) after competing in cross country, volleyball, basketball and of course Track and Field. I was fortunate enough to earn a track scholarship to the University of Rhode Island (Rhody, Rhody Rhody… to all of my fellow Rams). While at URI I was plagued with injuries, I felt that factored heavily in limiting my development and ultimately success at the national level. I finished my college career with moderate success I won 5 Atlantic 10 conference individual event titles, our team captured 6 A-10 team conference championship, I was named most outstanding field performer for the conference in 2004, earned All-ECAC Honors, named athlete of the year for the University of Rhode Island, finalist for RI State athlete of the year for the NCAA 2004. So although I didn't reach the athletic goals I set for myself I was happy with what I was able to accomplish and most importantly earning a valuable education. I graduated with a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and French which allowed me to have a gratifying career as a Systems Engineer for one of the top technical companies around, Cisco Systems. I’m currently in my sixth year at Cisco loving everyday what I do. I was actually during the start of my engineering career at Cisco in North Carolina that I scratch my track and field itch again.
I always felt like I there was more that I could achieve in the world of track and field, like I had unfinished business. So after a couple of years off the track but never out of the gym I was physically healthy and mentally hungry to return and give the track thing another go. When I was relocated to Los Angeles for work the first thing did was find a coach that I could train with. So in 2007 I asked a sprints and jump coaching legend, Dr. Ernest Gregoire who was working at Mt San Antonio College at the time if I can have a tryout to train with him. After a painful month he decided to keep me on and felt that we could make a push to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. I made a lot of progress leading up to the games and managed to qualify for Olympic trials, unfortunately it wasn’t my time to compete because a fracture in my tibia kept me as a spectator. Of course I was extremely disappointed but coach in his infinite wisdom told me I was young enough to have another shot. We have been working hard since then to earn another shot at the Olympic Games.
2012 is finally here and I am still in pursuit of my goal. I have a great team of people in my corner, who believe in me and what I can do. I am a better jumper than I ever was yet I’m still not the best jumper that I will be. I have plenty to look forward to this upcoming season. That was a quick intro to me and where I’ve been, stay tuned for where I’m going. Buckle your seat belts! It’s going to be an exciting ride!
