This article is part of a feature series by The Globe profiling individual students at Salt Lake Community College and the international journeys that brought them from their unique hometowns to their new homes in Utah.

Originally born in Haiti, SLCC student Jevahjire “Jevah” France discussed some of the unique elements of life in his hometown of Les Cayes during a presentation for the Black Student Union in the fall.
France, who currently studies mechanical engineering, acted as president of the BSU from 2021 to summer 2023. He remains involved with the group to this day, and said all former officers have roles and functions in the club. Roles which include helping members connect over shared struggles related to the Black diaspora and being Black in America — and teaching each other about personal backgrounds and culture.
Reflecting on his early experiences with the BSU, France said: “Once I started going to meetings, I found a space where I could really be myself and talk about some of the issues happening in the Black community … and get to know everyone, because, though we are all Black, we come from different places, so it’s fun learning about one another.”
Haitian roots
France is from a town in southwestern Haiti called Les Cayes.
“If we’re going to compare it to US [cities], it’s a very small town,” France said of Les Cayes. “In Haiti, though, it’s known as the ‘third city.’ Not necessarily third in size or money, but in terms of culture and historical significance.”
Les Cayes has been Haiti’s leading southern port since it was founded in 1786. Several fortresses, some now underwater, dot the coastline that France grew up frequenting. The beach was a mere 15- to 20-minute walk from his parents’ home.
“There are some [historical] areas that my dad used to go to growing up, but they’re all underwater now,” France said. “There’s even a fortress that we used to defend against the French [nearby].”
France visited these places with his five older brothers. They would play soccer on the beach and on the roof of their house, which is flat-roofed, like most homes where France grew up.
“My parents even had to build a fence on the roof because it was a three-story building,” France said, joking that the fence was not just made so that the ball wouldn’t go flying, but so he and his brothers wouldn’t either.
France reported feeling safe and secure economically in his upbringing.
“By the time I was born, my parents already had a house built, and a car,” he recalled. “So, my mom would often tell me I was privileged in some ways.”
But there’s another side to his memories of Haiti. In January 2010, a massive, 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the island nation. One year later, an important election took place.
France said protests claiming election irregularities erupted nationwide and reached his doorstep.
“The protests were happening right in front of my house. I was eight years old, but I have memories of that and the peacekeeping officers shooting on the crowd,” France said.
Despite the political violence he witnessed in 2011, France said he enjoyed his life in Les Cayes.
“I felt safe,” France said. “I’m telling you all of [this], but it’s more like when you leave and come to a place like Salt Lake City, and then you’re like, ‘Okay, maybe my childhood was crazier than I thought it was.’”

Culture shock
France’s parents began sending their six boys to live in the U.S. in the 2010s. France, the youngest brother, arrived last.
He moved to Salt Lake City in 2016, five years before political upheaval in Haiti reached a boiling point in 2021. That year, gunmen assassinated President Jovenal Moise at his home in the capital city of Port-Au-Prince.
As a freshman at Cottonwood High School, France had to grapple with feeling accepted in an environment that was drastically different than grade school in Haiti.
“I remember being shocked when I went to high school in the U.S. because I went to a Catholic school in Haiti,” France said. “It was very strict, so when I came here and saw students not wearing uniforms, just wearing shorts and jeans … I doubted that would be accepted back home.”
France said the initial surprise he felt regarding the casual nature of the quintessential “American teen” waned when he began to understand some of the nuances of “personal freedom” in American culture.
“In high school in the U.S., you’re treated like an adult,” France said. “So that choice, you have it, and there’s not going to be someone on your back telling you this or that.”
“If you want to find those very respectful kids, you can find them; if you want to find kids that are very disrespectful, just doing their own thing, you can find them,” he added. “But you get to pick where you want to hang out.”
Cottonwood has a high rate of enrollment among students born outside of the U.S., which France said eased his transition as well. Although no other Haitians attended the school, France said he was able to take several English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classes and meet new people who shared similar obstacles.
Cultural sharing
Before he even graduated from Cottonwood in 2019, France said he knew SLCC would be his next destination.
France started studying at the college during the pandemic, and he said he didn’t have much reason to visit campus at first. It wasn’t until he received an email from the BSU, one that had been sent to check in with students after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, that France began searching for ways to get involved.
And not long after that email, a BSU officer invited France to one of their open meetings.
“It was my way of finding other Black students on campus and familiarizing myself with them,” France said of the reason he was first attracted to the BSU. “It’s a safe space for us to talk about some of the issues happening in the Black community.”
France has made it a point to give back to the communities he’s been a part of. Through the BSU, he helps foster discussion on elements of the Black diaspora that he’s personally experienced, and he helps organize events like the college’s annual Juneteenth celebration.
At the BSU meeting on Oct. 31, 2024, France shared his own cultural knowledge of Fèt Gede and Haitian Vodou, which he said for many represents a resistance to the French colonial rule of Haiti from the late 15th century to the early 19th century.
“In colonial times, you had to be Catholic, so Vodou practitioners had to practice in private,” France told his audience.

Fèt Gede is a Haitian holiday celebrated annually on Nov. 1 and 2 and is part of the country’s national religion, Haitian Vodou. Like Latin celebrations of “Day of the Dead,” Fèt Gede is a time to commemorate and commune with lost loved ones. The presentation given by France was replete with images of graveyards and icons from the holiday, as well as other aspects of Haitian Vodou.
SLCC faculty member Glory Johnson-Stanton, the manager for student success initiatives and advisor for the BSU, proceeded to seek clarification from France about the connections between Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo. Johnson-Stanton said she is familiar with the latter having grown up near Louisiana.
Haitian Vodou and the Voodoo tradition found in and around New Orleans are practiced slightly differently, France said, but there are many crossovers and similarities. He explained how the religion spread from Haiti to the southern U.S., the Mississippi Delta region specifically, because of the robust shipping routes that connected New Orleans and Haiti for hundreds of years.
“We have cultural presentations maybe once a month,” Johnson-Stanton said. “The things that we have for the [BSU] are usually educational. What we discuss pertains to the Black diaspora and Black culture, but everyone is always welcome to come.”
Anyone can attend BSU meetings at Taylorsville Redwood Campus in the Student Center, rooms 221/223, from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoons during the fall and spring semesters.
As for France, he still has a few semesters left before graduating and said he may be in the process of changing his major. So, the impact of his presence on campus will be felt at the BSU and beyond for some more time.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Johnson-Stanton’s title with the BSU.
Je ne parle pas Creole, mais je parle francais. Je sais que toute le monde la estudient francais, et quand je suis alle en Haiti. Ils tous me comprehende. Je suis alle comme dentiste avec le Initiative de sante de Haiti. C’etais une experience merveilleaux. Si vous avait le temp de me parler, j’aimerais bien le faire. J’ai de photos de mon experience, et j’aimerais les partager.
Michael B Hill DDS
That is an awesome article. So much shared and learned. I wish I was close enough to the school to participate sometimes. I am currently taking all of my classes online.
sa te yon belle article mesi anpil mon freur
Bravo, Frem!
Proud of you, man!
Haiti fye de ou!
Comments are closed.