There’s just something about that William & Mary connection…

William & Mary has a program called Branch Out International, which helps organize and support international alternative breaks with William & Mary students as well as train the leaders of these trips. for the past two semesters, I have been attending almost-weekly meetings with the two student leaders (Adam and Wesley) and Melody Porter in order to best prepare myself to lead the William & Mary Haiti Compact with Brian Focarino. From May 17^th to the 24^th, I was in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien, Haiti and I can honestly say that it was one of the most interesting and life-changing experiences I have had while I’ve been at William & Mary. although this experience was by far one of the most amazing things I’ve done in quite some time, while I was in Haiti (for just seven days), there were three different ways in which I encountered William & Mary outside of the people that I was traveling with. Let’s explore them…

With a sweet baby girl named Michele at GCH

1. Random kid – While traveling five miles on horse up to the top of the Citadel (seriously one of the most beautiful places that I’ve ever been in my entire life), we were on the last mile stretch of the steepest part of the mountain. I may or may not have already almost fallen off of my horse at this point (wasn’t my fault – the horse literally sprinted up the steepest part and then turned a corner just a little too fast), but something caught my eye. There was a Haitian kid walking up the side of the mountain and you will never guess what he was wearing – a long-sleeved William & Mary t-shirt. I couldn’t believe my eyes – a random kid was wearing a William & Mary t-shirt! I yelled out at him – “OH MY GOD – LOVE YOUR T-SHIRT!” and pointed at my chest and then his. he probably thought I was some ridiculous American who was being stupid, but it made me seriously so excited to see a William & Mary t-shirt on the side of a mountain in rural northern Haiti.

2. Pure water for the world – When visiting an organization called Pure Water for the World which works in connection with International Child Care (ICC, our primary community partner), some of us had on t-shirts from

Outside of Port-au-Prince visiting with Pure Water for the World

William & Mary, and believe it or not, a woman working there said, “wait, you guys are from William & Mary? My daughter just finished her freshman year there!” Yet another random William & Mary moment where we were able to connect to a really awesome organization just because of the power of our university. pretty cool, right?

3. In the airport – While getting on the plane in Port-au-Prince on our last day to head back to the states, I was stopped by an older man because I had on a William & Mary t-shirt. He said, similar to the woman at Pure Water for the World, “wait, you’re from William & Mary? My daughter works there in the PR and development office!” Even though I didn’t know her personally, the fact that we made a connection just by our shared William & Mary-ness was pretty awesome. One of my other team members knew his daughter and was able to talk to the man for awhile, only reinforcing the positive relationships and opportunities that William & Mary has to offer.

It’s things like this that make me excited to be a part of the Tribe – a tribe that extends much farther than Williamsburg – one that extends all the way to Haiti.

xoxo.

Kylee