From Grace Place to Charles de Gaulle Airport: The Journey of Wood Bien Ami
Wood Bien Ami graduated from the Grace Place LEAD Program in the spring of 2022. Living in Golden Gate was just one stop in this incredible young man’s journey to adulthood. Wood was born in Haiti and immigrated to the United States at the age of 14. He did not speak, read, or write English.
The flight Wood took from Haiti was the first time he was ever on a plane, and 7 years later he took his second flight to, St. Paul Minnesota to attend college. Little did he expect to be flying to Paris, France the following year to spend a semester abroad.
Wood credits Grace Place with preparing him for college and beyond due to our focus on literacy and college and career development. He expresses a tremendous amount of gratitude for the support he received from the Grace Place staff and volunteers. “I am one of the many students whose lives have been positively transformed thanks to the generous support of people like you who support Grace Place. I would not have graduated high school if it was not for Grace Place.” The Grace Place LEAD program offered Wood tutoring for his ACT and accountability to be sure his homework and college applications were completed on time. While in high school, he was a Jr. ROTC member and worked at the South Fairfield Hotel. He credits these activities with keeping him disciplined and determined.
Not only did Wood graduate from Golden Gate High School, due to his outstanding achievements in the Grace Place LEAD program, but he also received a four-year, full-ride scholarship at St John’s University in Minnesota. Going to school in Minnesota, presented Wood with new challenges including befriending students with different cultural backgrounds, and his first experience with a cold Midwest winter.
Wood was on his own in a new part of the country, but thanks to Grace Place, Wood wasn’t alone in Minnesota. During his senior year of high school at the Grace Place LEAD program, he was introduced to Linda and Ben Wallace, native Minnesotans who also have a home in Naples. Within an hour of meeting each other at this event, Linda already had Wood’s flight information and had arranged to pick him up at the airport. The airport ride was only the beginning. Linda quickly became Wood’s “dorm mom”, helping him to move in and making him meals. Ben took on the role of financial advisor helping Wood to balance his finances and navigate living on his own for the first time. Ben also advised Wood on his academic studies and would assist him with class essays and projects. “Grace Place helped me get to college, but I never expected them to continue to play such an important role in my future. I am beyond grateful I met Linda and Ben through Grace Place.”
Wood spent the Summer of his Freshman year working for the Grace Place Middle School Summer camp. “I was excited to come home from college and spend time with my family, but also wanted to give back to Grace Place and show my younger neighbors in Golden Gate what was possible if they continued with the Grace Place after-school programs.” Wood has four siblings, and two of them, Sophia and Roody, are in the Grace Place Elementary after-school program.
After spending the Summer in Golden Gate, it was time for his longest trip to date, a flight from Miami to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. This was Wood’s first time outside the United States since he was 13 years old. Once again, he was by himself, but he didn’t feel alone. “I keep in touch with my teachers from Grace Place, via social media, email, and the occasional Facetime. I am so thankful for their continued support in this new phase of my life. They even remembered my birthday.”
Wood now has another family to lean on, his host family in France. His host parents are Sébastien, a skilled handyman by trade, and Gaelle a social worker working with the disabled. He even has some new “host siblings” who allow him to keep up his role as an “older brother of sorts”. Camille, age 16, is an avid equestrian and attends a boarding school during the week. Raphaël, the youngest member of the family, is 14 years old. Wood and Raphaël bonded over their love of soccer. Wood began playing soccer in Haiti and continued playing the sport through high school. While in France, Wood, currently has an internship with a soccer club where he helps boys aged 6-15 improve their soccer skills.
Wood loves France and though he is excited to see his family in Florida for the Christmas Holiday (and to have homemade Haitian food), he wishes he could stay longer. Speaking of food, Wood has immersed himself in the culture and developed a taste for French food. He regularly eats fresh croissants, quiche, and French onion soup and Gaelle cooks dinner for him most nights including escargot and beef bourguignon. His new favorite dessert is Tarte Tatin.
Wood’s journeys continue. He spent a day last month sightseeing in Barcelona, Spain, and has made day trips to Mimes and Marcelles. He is majoring in communications and minoring in French and looks forward to the opportunities that the future can bring.
Wood is proud of all he accomplished and expresses gratitude for the role Grace Place has played in his success thus far. “I am forever thankful to all of you who have made it possible for me, a boy who had never left Golden Gate, to now live abroad and attend college. As we enter the holiday season, I ask, with gratitude, that you consider supporting Grace Place and all the students who aspire to change their path through education.”
Education Truly Changes Everything!
