Florenal Joseph, Ph.D.

Agronomy ‘02

Florenal and his siblings were raised by a single mother. She worked hard to send all her children to school despite having barely attended school herself. “She is a hard-working lady, all the credit goes to my mom,” Florenal says with pride. Her work ethic was infectious; Florenal earned a scholarship to attend high school, where he met Conor Bohan and Garry Delice.

Conor was Florenal’s English teacher and HELP Country Director Garry was the school principal. Florenal was one of the earliest students to receive a scholarship from HELP. “I went to college thanks to them,” he says. “Conor even gave me the application fee for the top school in Haiti, Quisqueya University.” He is incredibly grateful for the early support he received, stating that “The money HELP spent on me came from people who did not even know me. Now is the time for me to say thank you. The work that HELP is doing in Haiti is not only influencing the lives of the students that benefit directly from the program. It is influencing Haiti as a whole.”

Since graduating from Quisqueya University, Florenal has achieved more than he could have imagined as a young boy. He earned his Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology in 2020 at SUNY Medical Center and currently teaches biology at Brooklyn College. He also hosts a radio show called “Podium des Jeunes” which discusses current affairs in Haiti and is geared towards young people. Recent episodes featured an analysis of the new Haitian constitution and an interview with Haitian author, entrepreneur, and politician Jerry Tardieu.