1. How have the workshops and discussions on leadership this week changed your understanding of what leadership means?

The workshops and discussions changed my view of leadership due to the integration of personality traits and how that determines different leadership styles. Throughout high school, I was taught that leaders are the ones who speak up all the time and take immediate initiative. During the leadership seminars, I learned that is not the case and that there are many different leadership styles. I learned that I'm an expressive leader which means I tend to speak up more, but that does not mean that my peers who take a backseat for certain aspects are not leaders as well.

1. How might you imagine applying one of the four ways of leading during your summer on campus? 

This summer I have applied the leader-within style due to the independent nature of my research. I've had to hold myself accountable and also catch up with myself periodically to make sure that I was on track and comfortable with what I was working on. 

1. What is everyone most excited about engaging in as part of their summer research project?

The most exciting part of the summer for me has been reading primary sources that I've read throughout my research project related to Haiti. I am Haitian so this project is really close to my culture. I have been able to read sourced in Haitian-Creole and use that in my academic work which has been very eye-opening. I feel fulfilled because I can incorporate my culture into my academic work.

• What are some of the ethical issues that you are grappling with in your research? What are some of the ways in which you are responding to these questions?

In terms of ethical issues that have come up within my research, I have not encountered any throughout the past few weeks in terms of my own research processes. My process is primarily focused on reading sources that are freely available to the public and not really interacting with other people or entities that would raise ethical concerns. On the other hand, the content within my research raises ethical concerns that the U.S government performed during their occupation of Haiti. 

• As you continue your research, have you considered alternative viewpoints in your investigation? If so, how have these alternative viewpoints enriched or changed your project?

Yes, during my research I've grappled with the perspective that my project is centered on. Ideally, I would want a primarily Haitian focus because my goal is to examine their classical education system. On the other hand, most of the information I have been able to find is from a U.S perspective because their documents and sources are more readily available. This is a struggle for me because the goal is to amplify Haitian voices and sometimes I feel like they are not getting the research time they deserve in this project.

• While all Laidlaw Scholars will be presenting their research at the Columbia Undergraduate Research Symposium in the fall, what are the more immediate expectations that you have for your research? Are you writing a paper? Will your research be part of a larger scientific study? Do you hope to produce an annotated bibliography that you reflect on down the line? Is your research now the first phase of a project you’ll continue to work on throughout the year, and/or next summer? Now that we are nearing the one month mark of the program, please write about your expectations for your research.

As I've been thinking about this question for the past few weeks, I've finally decided that my confirmed deliverable for this project in addition to the poster for our presentation will be a literature review. At first, I wanted to write a paper but I will need months longer of research in order to write a cohesive research paper on the topic. I want to continue on the research during the school year and especially next summer when I am not doing the second component of the Laidlaw Leadership Program.

• Why does your research matter? Explain the significance of the question you are investigating, and why you are interested in it.

My research matters because there are is not enough academic scholarship related to the Haitian Diaspora available to the public. Being the first Black republic in the world, Haiti is rich with history on leadership, politics, and human rights. Additionally, this position has also put a target on Haiti's back. Colonial/Imperial powers such as the United States and France have taken advantage of Haiti's resources and vulnerable position. My research question explores how the United States attempted to change Haiti's education system during their occupation of Haiti. This is significant because it's another example of how Haiti has lost autonomy to the abuse of power by other governments. In Haiti's case the United States isn't the only perpetrator but I used them as an example due to prevalent hypocrisy and false narratives within the United States government. This is a way to hold them accountable.