Ducasse Alphonse graduated from St. Ignace School of Teaching in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in the Science of Education.
Prior to his graduation, he helped during the summer months tutoring students in mathematics. We realized he was a talented teacher. After graduation, we hired him as a tutor in mathematics, chemistry and physics. Today he works in our Crosby Center and offers 4 classes a week in upper level math.
Ducasse has not had an easy life. When he and his older brother, Antonio, were ages 10 and 14, they left their mother and lived with a friend of the family, but she could not support their education, so they worked to help pay for school. At a young age, Ducasse assisted a mason building houses, and Antonio worked long hours in gardens assisting a farmer. Sometimes they missed a school year or two in an attempt to save money for the following year’s tuition. Antonio was in our first class of 32 students in 2004. He was in 12th grade. His brother Ducasse entered the program 2006.
They both were two of our brightest students. He and his brother, Antonio, were universities students when the 2010 earthquake shattered the region of Port-au-Prince. Ducasse at that time was studying Electrical Engineering at the University Lumiere in Port-au-Prince. He was in an electric circuitry course with 28 others when the building crumbled. A large block hit his back and while he crawled to escape, a wall came down on his legs. Without the use of his legs, he managed to crawl out of the building to the road for help. For three days, he lay in the road with no food or water. Finally, when he was losing all hope, someone came to assist him.
Learning he was from Deschapelles, he was sent to the Hospital Albert Schweitzer, where he spent time recuperating. Luckily, the hospital saved his legs and after a year he was able to walk unassisted again. It was after his return home that he learned that his brother Antonio died in the earthquake, and 26 of the 28 students in his class perished that day. With the collapse of the University Lumiere, the only university in Haiti to offer electrical engineering, Ducasse had no chance to finish his degree. After his recovery, he decided to go in to the field of teaching, and he entered St. Ignace to start his bachelor’s degree from the beginning. He graduated three years later and came to work for us. He is a remarkable man with courage and great gift for teaching.