Roselene Alexis: Islander on the Move
Posted by Valerie Trigg Copley
Join us on April 6 to meet this extraordinary Haitian woman and hear her story first-hand. And bring a guest to share!
At the young age of ten, she said goodbye to her family, boarded a rickety boat, and set sail on the Atlantic Ocean with the conviction that, somewhere, anywhere, her life and her future would be better than the one she had. Today, she is an attorney and a member of the Texas Bar Association. Her name is Roselene Alexis.
Roselene was born on the island of La Gonave, Haiti, located to the west-northwest of Port-au-Prince within the heart of the Haitian gulf. La Gonave was considered the staging area for many Haitians willing to risk their lives to travel on a boat to the United States. At the time, two thirds of the Haitian people were either unemployed or underemployed, leading thousands to risk the hazardous voyage to America in search of economic opportunities and to escape police and political brutality.
Growing up, Roselene suffered from extreme poverty. She explained, "My mother was unable to feed her family. She could not even give us clothes to put on our backs." Whenever possible, her mother would do domestic work and sometimes gardening.
"Growing the garden was one thing, selling the food was another," explained Roselene, alluding to the ironic situation where no one had money to purchase the crop. Moreover, in 1992, the state of poverty in Haiti was compounded by the political environment with the overthrow of then Prime Minister Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In essence, Roselene lived in a community where dreams and goals existed in the minds of only a few because the dreadful living conditions in Haiti had caused many to give up hope.
Having knowledge of the boats sailing to America, Roselene sneaked into one with the hope of entering the United States. "People were paying the captain, but I had no money. I had to sneak in," she explained. Once on board, she saw many people from her community, but no one was in charge of her. After about four days drifting in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the US Coast Guard rescued her, ending a trip that was both agonizing and horrifying. Roselene was taken to the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where she was given refugee status. As a result, her dream of a better life in America started to become a reality.
After about five months, she was transferred to Miami, Florida. As a custom, the news of arriving Haitian refugees was announced over the airwaves throughout the city. The Haitian community would await the arriving refugees to look for family members and to assist others. Roselene was identified by a distant cousin who took her in. She stayed with her cousin and his family, and about one year later, he placed her in the care of Catholic Charities Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program, so she was transferred to Jackson, Mississippi.
"I was shuffled through the legal system until my eighteenth birthday. I was a group home resident, an occupant of several foster homes, and eventually a member of an independent living program," said Roselene. Though it was tough to live in a constant state of turmoil, she attended school and excelled above her peers. In high school, she was placed in the International Baccalaureate program consisting of all of the most difficult high school courses. She prevailed, completing high school in three years instead of four, and as the third top student of her class. Her scholastic achievements earned her a full scholarship to Jackson State University.
However, despite her good grades and scholarship awards, her state appointed caseworker tried to persuade her not to attend college. "She told me, you are not ready to attend college! You should try to be a hairdresser," Roselene cried, explaining what her caseworker said. "In my mind, I was saying to myselfâââ?s¬Ã'¦ She just doesn't understand where I came from and what it took for me to be here," she continued.
Later, Roselene enrolled and attended Jackson States University. While there, she worked and volunteered as a tutor and mentor in many organizations, including the Catholic Charities Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program. In addition to helping refugee students through tutoring, she served as a role model to show what can be achieved through tenacity and courage. After three years at JSU, Roselene graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in English and French.
Upon graduating from college, Roselene found employment as an Attendance Counselor for the Jackson Public School District, a position which gave her a working knowledge of state laws, school board policies, and administration regulations. However, despite the personal and professional reward of being an attendance counselor, she was not satisfied. "The position did not allow me to reach my intellectual and professional capabilities, so I decided to go to law school," she said. "I believed that a legal education would have allowed me to make the best of my intellectual strengths: my ability to speak more that one language, my unique background, and my desire to be a well-rounded individual," Roselene continued.
Roselene was accepted by the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, where she graduated fourth in her class, summa cum laude. Upon graduation from law school, Roselene began her legal career at the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP in Dallas, where she provided legal counsel to Fortune 100 clients regarding real estate and banking matters, to include negotiating real estate contracts, leases, and loans, her work focusing then on the oil and gas industry.
Today, Roselene is the principal attorney at the Law Offices of Roselene Alexis in Houston. Her practice areas include immigration, family law, personal injury, criminal defense, business law, and real estate. As an attorney, she has represented clients before various departments and tribunals, including US Citizenship and Immigration Service, US Immigration Court, Board of Immigration Appeals, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
What a powerful story! It is one that is often seen only in story books. At such a young age, Roselene refused to be part of the cycle of poverty, despair, and illiteracy that so many Haitian are thrust into. She dreamed beyond the reach of her homeland. Today, Attorney Roselene Alexis has reunited with her Haitian family and makes regular trips to Haiti. One Love Caribbean is proud to present her to the Houston Caribbean Community as October's Islander on the Move! Felicitations!
Roselene was born on the island of La Gonave, Haiti, located to the west-northwest of Port-au-Prince within the heart of the Haitian gulf. La Gonave was considered the staging area for many Haitians willing to risk their lives to travel on a boat to the United States. At the time, two thirds of the Haitian people were either unemployed or underemployed, leading thousands to risk the hazardous voyage to America in search of economic opportunities and to escape police and political brutality.
Growing up, Roselene suffered from extreme poverty. She explained, "My mother was unable to feed her family. She could not even give us clothes to put on our backs." Whenever possible, her mother would do domestic work and sometimes gardening.
"Growing the garden was one thing, selling the food was another," explained Roselene, alluding to the ironic situation where no one had money to purchase the crop. Moreover, in 1992, the state of poverty in Haiti was compounded by the political environment with the overthrow of then Prime Minister Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In essence, Roselene lived in a community where dreams and goals existed in the minds of only a few because the dreadful living conditions in Haiti had caused many to give up hope.
Having knowledge of the boats sailing to America, Roselene sneaked into one with the hope of entering the United States. "People were paying the captain, but I had no money. I had to sneak in," she explained. Once on board, she saw many people from her community, but no one was in charge of her. After about four days drifting in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the US Coast Guard rescued her, ending a trip that was both agonizing and horrifying. Roselene was taken to the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where she was given refugee status. As a result, her dream of a better life in America started to become a reality.
After about five months, she was transferred to Miami, Florida. As a custom, the news of arriving Haitian refugees was announced over the airwaves throughout the city. The Haitian community would await the arriving refugees to look for family members and to assist others. Roselene was identified by a distant cousin who took her in. She stayed with her cousin and his family, and about one year later, he placed her in the care of Catholic Charities Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program, so she was transferred to Jackson, Mississippi.
"I was shuffled through the legal system until my eighteenth birthday. I was a group home resident, an occupant of several foster homes, and eventually a member of an independent living program," said Roselene. Though it was tough to live in a constant state of turmoil, she attended school and excelled above her peers. In high school, she was placed in the International Baccalaureate program consisting of all of the most difficult high school courses. She prevailed, completing high school in three years instead of four, and as the third top student of her class. Her scholastic achievements earned her a full scholarship to Jackson State University.
However, despite her good grades and scholarship awards, her state appointed caseworker tried to persuade her not to attend college. "She told me, you are not ready to attend college! You should try to be a hairdresser," Roselene cried, explaining what her caseworker said. "In my mind, I was saying to myselfâââ?s¬Ã'¦ She just doesn't understand where I came from and what it took for me to be here," she continued.
Later, Roselene enrolled and attended Jackson States University. While there, she worked and volunteered as a tutor and mentor in many organizations, including the Catholic Charities Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program. In addition to helping refugee students through tutoring, she served as a role model to show what can be achieved through tenacity and courage. After three years at JSU, Roselene graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in English and French.
Upon graduating from college, Roselene found employment as an Attendance Counselor for the Jackson Public School District, a position which gave her a working knowledge of state laws, school board policies, and administration regulations. However, despite the personal and professional reward of being an attendance counselor, she was not satisfied. "The position did not allow me to reach my intellectual and professional capabilities, so I decided to go to law school," she said. "I believed that a legal education would have allowed me to make the best of my intellectual strengths: my ability to speak more that one language, my unique background, and my desire to be a well-rounded individual," Roselene continued.
Roselene was accepted by the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, where she graduated fourth in her class, summa cum laude. Upon graduation from law school, Roselene began her legal career at the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP in Dallas, where she provided legal counsel to Fortune 100 clients regarding real estate and banking matters, to include negotiating real estate contracts, leases, and loans, her work focusing then on the oil and gas industry.
Today, Roselene is the principal attorney at the Law Offices of Roselene Alexis in Houston. Her practice areas include immigration, family law, personal injury, criminal defense, business law, and real estate. As an attorney, she has represented clients before various departments and tribunals, including US Citizenship and Immigration Service, US Immigration Court, Board of Immigration Appeals, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
What a powerful story! It is one that is often seen only in story books. At such a young age, Roselene refused to be part of the cycle of poverty, despair, and illiteracy that so many Haitian are thrust into. She dreamed beyond the reach of her homeland. Today, Attorney Roselene Alexis has reunited with her Haitian family and makes regular trips to Haiti. One Love Caribbean is proud to present her to the Houston Caribbean Community as October's Islander on the Move! Felicitations!