Adrenise, Haiti, enrolled in 2015
In the U.S., we don’t tend to think of high school as higher education. It’s standard, the baseline. In Haiti however, an estimated 80 percent of adolescents never make it to secondary school. Mercy Beyond Borders (MBB) scholarships are improving this grim stat one girl at a time. A stellar example is Scholar, Adrenise, the youngest of seven children, who is currently pursuing a degree in civil engineering at university. Her journey highlights not only her resilience but also the ripple effect of education on families and entire neighborhoods.
Adrenise’s story with MBB began when her sister, Andrelene, received an MBB high school scholarship, proving to the family that education was within reach. Adrenise followed in those footsteps when she herself became a MBB Scholar in 2015. In 2022, her final year of secondary school, Adrenise along with her sister and fellow MBB Scholar, Andrelene, endured a tumultuous turn of events. Their mother passed away and their father was in the Dominican Republic, trying to find construction jobs to send back money for his 7 children. The girls found themselves taking shelter with a cousin whose house was hooked up to the city electric grid, but had not received any electricity for over 2 years. Despite these challenges, the girls remained grateful to family for their support.
Adrenise continued breaking barriers when she enrolled at Université Notre Dame d’Haïti (UNDH) in Gonaïves as a civil engineering student. Her scholarship stipend allowed her to rent a quiet study space after living in a noisy household with relatives. With a proper place to focus, she excelled academically while also volunteering for her elderly neighbor, fetching water and doing laundry—small acts of kindness with a big impact.
By 2023, her commitment to education had grown even stronger. MBB provided her with a laptop, a crucial tool that supported her first-year university courses. She successfully completed her seminars and soon began core civil engineering studies. That same year, Adrenise and a classmate extended their learning to others by organizing neighborhood tutoring sessions. They worked with second- and fourth-grade students, helping them with reading, French, and math while encouraging them to study and be relentless in pursuit of their dreams.
As a woman in civil engineering, Adrenise has had to overcome gender stereotypes. She recalls how, in her first year, she was one of only six girls in a class of sixty. By her second year, she was the only girl remaining among thirteen boys. Many peers doubted her ability to succeed, but Adrenise knew her worth and her potential. “I decided to show everyone that I am a leader who reaches my goals,” she said. Passing into her second year gave her enormous confidence—and fueled her dream of becoming the first engineer in her family.
Now, in 2025, Adrenise is applying her acquired knowledge to the world around her. She is completing an internship with an engineering firm in Cap-Haïtien, where she has been warmly welcomed by staff and given meaningful opportunities to contribute. She is proud to see how her coursework directly applies to the projects she’s working on, and her goal of becoming an engineer is becoming more tangible by the day.
Adrenise’s journey is representative of what so many Haitian girls are capable of, but so few have the opportunity to accomplish. Through the support of MBB and its partners, Adrenise is proving that when you educate a girl, you educate generations.