Linsey Francesca J.

Whether navigating the COVID-19 pandemic or some of the other difficulties that have challenged Haiti in recent years, many Louverture Cleary School Alumni can be found on the frontlines, leading initiatives for positive change for their country. One such alumna is Linsey Francesca J. (LCS ’13), who has dedicated herself to the study of medicine.

During her seven years at LCS, Francesca especially enjoyed her classes and participation in campus life. “I learned many things at LCS,” she remarks, “like how to live together in community and to express myself in four languages (English, Kreyòl, French and Spanish).” After graduating from LCS in 2013, Francesca continued her studies at the University of the Foundation of Aristide (UNIFA) with the aid of a scholarship from LCS’s Dulcich Center for Career Advancement (DCCA, formerly the Office for External Affairs). “Since I was a kid,” Francesca explains, “I have always loved medicine because I love helping others.” 

Francesca is not alone, as 25 percent of LCS graduates go on to study medicine in university. This is especially important in a country that has just one-tenth the number of doctors per-capita as the United States.

Francesca was in her sixth year of medical school working as an intern at La Providence Hospital, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. “COVID-19 changed the plan of my work,” she recalls. “We had no equipment to work against COVID-19, and it was not very easy to work without it. We were doing our best to continue to save lives.”

Throughout the pandemic, Francesca worked tirelessly to simultaneously finish her studies and serve patients in her care. She recently graduated in March of 2021 and is moving on to a year of hospital residency, which is necessary to obtain her license to officially practice medicine.

Like her fellow Louverturians, Francesca looks forward to having a positive impact on her country. “My plan for the future is to become a great doctor. There are two specialties that I am enthusiastic about.” She would like to be a pediatrician because she loves working with children. She also hopes to pursue obstetrics to help increase healthcare for women in her country.

She sees building and increasing access to more schools and hospitals in Haiti as a priority for a better society. “I hope for a change for Haiti,” Francesca declares. “I hope that during this pandemic and in the future, every Haitian lives and works together for a better country.”