杏吧原创

During her senior year at a Catholic high school in Cap-Ha茂tien, a port city in Haiti known for its colonial French architecture, Flore St茅cie Norc茅ide finally got to take a basic computer class 鈥� and discovered how much she enjoyed it.

鈥淓ven before that, every time my parents or someone in my family had a problem with their computer or phone, they asked me for help,鈥� she says.

Previously, Norc茅ide had planned to study international relations in Haiti. Switching to computer engineering required a big change in plans, because colleges and universities in Haiti generally lack up-to-date computer technology and infrastructure.

With her family鈥檚 help and encouragement, Norc茅ide applied to colleges near family members in the United States. She chose Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, Conn., where she could live with an uncle鈥檚 family. After earning an associate鈥檚 degree with honors, she transferred to UMass Lowell, near another uncle.

Key attractions here included admission to the Honors College, a scholarship for international transfer students 鈥� and RAMP, a free, six-credit summer program aimed at preparing incoming women engineering students to succeed by boosting their computer skills and connecting them with faculty, alumni and each other.聽

At RAMP 鈥� Research, Academic and Mentoring Pathways 鈥� she made friends and found a mentor in Assoc. Dean Kavitha Chandra. She now works in Chandra鈥檚 lab.

鈥淚 was worried about adapting to a larger school and larger class sizes. Being around the school and being around mentors who could guide me really helped with the transition,鈥� Norc茅ide says. 鈥淭he Python and MatLab skills I learned helped me in every computer engineering class.鈥�

Chandra also nominated Norc茅ide to receive one of the first Oprah Winfrey Scholarships. Norc茅ide is grateful for all the support.

鈥淲ithout scholarships, I couldn鈥檛 study computer engineering,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y parents get paid in Haitian currency, and every time they have to convert it to American dollars, it costs them a lot.鈥�

Norc茅ide plans to get some work experience and a Ph.D. Then she will take everything she鈥檚 learned back home.

鈥淚 want to implement educational programs in Haiti so that any other student there who wants to pursue a career in computing could do it,鈥� she says.