Davidson
Part 3
Last month I had the opportunity to attend The Southeastern University (SEU) Leadership Forum in Florida. I was very surprised to get approved for a Visa the first time I applied! I have friends who have applied 3-4 times with no success. This is a training to improve leadership skills with training from some of the most successful leaders in America. While I was there I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Ed Bastian, Delta Airline’s CEO and Daymond John from the Shark Tank, American entrepreneur Bill Rancic and the commitment guy, Alex Sheen who founded “Because I Said I Would” and many other good speakers.
Do you think that a guy who never really knew his mother because she passed away when he was three years old, who saw his father twice during his life, who lost eight members of his family during the earthquake of 2010, and who never had much hope could have a conversation with the Delta CEO? It was not even a charity event but a leadership forum! So this guy (me!) had the opportunity to explain to Ed Bastian what he is doing in his country of Haiti. In the conversation that I had with Ed Bastian I learned that you can influence other people and that humility is one of the most important characteristics that a good leader should have. I know that could be a typical day for you but for me I will never forget March 16th, 2018. Because it wasn’t a typical day in my life. I had a short conversation with Ed Bastian’s pastor was interesting for me. Since his pastor had such a profound influence on him, Mr Bastion brought him to the conference. To me, this meant that his faith was very authentic.
One of my biggest dreams now is to build a public library in my community in Carrefour because reading is vital. Learning about the past will help us avoid the same mistakes in the future. It is shocking that the second largest community of the capital in Haiti does not even have a public or private library! When I was a child, Carrefour had a library. Unfortunately, it sustained earthquake damage and was closed. Opening a library is a very big dream and one I know I need help with! But I believe everything a person needs to know is found inside a book! So now this is one of my biggest goals for the next three or five years.
I did not become the person I am today by a flash of lightning. I read so many good books, I learned from my past, I took advantage of different opportunities that I found on my way, like the Bridge Scholarship opportunity. I feel blessed to be helping and serving people and I am always working on my own life. In the Bible, David and Joseph’s stories changed the way that I always see myself. John C. Maxwell, Jeff Keller, David Schwartz, John Bevere, Stormie Omartian, Chris Guillebeau and many other authors have made huge impacts on my life. We have a new generation of leaders who want to change things here in Haiti like: Dr. Valéry Moise, Davidson Toussaint, Pierre Stanley Baptiste, Guerson Petit-Homme; all of those leaders have impacted my life as well. My dream was always to be part of that new generation of leaders who don’t continue complaining about our problems but who will work together and provide solutions to the problems in our communities.
I would like to thank the Bridge Scholarship and all those who supported the scholarship program and those who will support it in the future. I just want to let you know that their work is real and they doing a great work here.
My name is Davidson Jules, I am the Haïti Program Manager for Bridge Scholarship, the ambassador of Impact Hub Haïti, board member of Elit Mastery Academy, a young leader, a Believer and my commitment is to never stop working to improve leadership in my country of Haiti.
