It all started with my name…
My essay for Fulbright 2016.
It all started with my name: Beethoven Plaisir. There is a famous movie starring a dog named Beethoven. My playmates and later on my classmates had all watched that movie, loved it and decided that I would become the dog. This was the beginning of my first nickname: little dog. When I tried to explain that my name had nothing to do with the movie and that I was born years before its release, bullying and fun got worse. Things continued to get worse when sequels of the movie were released: Beethoven 2, 3. But when life gives you lemons, you have to make lemonades. Genuinely, during a first day of school, I introduced myself by stating: “Good morning, I am Beethoven, yes! Like the dog in the movie." The class could not stop laughing. From then on, no one remembered “little dog”. I was now a cool and funny kid.
Growing up, I discovered that I could do the same pun with my last name: “Plaisir”; in English, it's literally "pleasure." To introduce myself, I started by saying: “I am Plaisir, but I can’t give pleasure to everyone”. The laughter was greater. I inspired to be a comedian; however, instead of comedy arts lessons, I had piano ones. I was not interested in piano. I stopped going to the classes. My mother left me free to fix my own expectations. As a kid, I was a dreamer. My mother let me dream. Unfortunately, the recurrent instability of my country had affected my family a lot. As a single parent, my mother was de facto: both my “Mom” and my “Dad”. Her motherly responsibility had required informed decisions to make the best choices and correct the bad ones. My mother was good in that field. I learned from her how to be a good decision-maker and that led me towards a career in Statistics and becoming an Analyst instead of a comedian.
It was a long journey that has helped me build the bridge between my creative and logical thinking. Two main traits of a good analyst. During my teenage years, I joined the Boy Scout club. With no regrets, it’s one of the best decision of my life. The Scout helped me sharpen my curiosity and grow my toolbox skills by adding cooking, reading skills, life-saving and Morse. I went out of my comfort zone by planning and leading activities such as hiking and camping trips. I evolved from Cub Scout, to Senior Patrol leader to managing the overall troop’s life operation. It is an amazing life for a teenager. I visited, during scout camping trips, the main cities of Haiti. I came to understand that Haiti has a lot of potential that innovative solution can unlock. I’m still involved in the club, and this helps me fill part of my life by volunteering to lead projects such as collecting food for the church’s food banks.
At the same time, High School was allowing me to meet other brilliant minds in my generation. It made me aware of the level of competition that I would face to gain admission at the university of my choice: CTPEA. I have worked harder and later. I was able to reach my goal. At the university, by sharing ideas with my promotion’s friends, I did my first capital investment. We decided to solve all questions in the previous CTPEA’s entrance exams, compile all in a book and sell copies. It was a huge success. It became our legacy to the university. This venture helped me understand that I must learn to solve real life problems and above all, what I know will never be as important as who I know.
With this lesson in mind, I took my first steps in the professional world. Unfortunately, it coincided with my mother and sister moving abroad. This separation offered me the challenge to live alone in Haiti and the opportunity to develop a new sense of confidence that helped me grow professionally. Having spent the last five years working as an analyst for the Senior Management, I have come to understand that I love being the guy with the data that will influence decisions to do right thing for the business and my community. My solid background and productive work experience have provided a solid base. However, I want to increase my knowledge in advanced data and business analytics to learn the cutting edge techniques needed to help shape better economic growth solutions for my country through financial inclusion.
Besides my professional life, I read a lot. Reading helps me understand the power of imagination and that you and only you build your future. Therefore, each time I decide to plan my tomorrow, I just put “Inc.” after my full name. This has helped me a lot. I very much look forward to enjoying the Master’s level at university, and playing a full part in said university life.
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