Akron connections make Haitian’s dream come true

for a student from Haiti to attend UA.

Isaac became the first student to accept that scholarship, and arrived on campus this January.

“This was my dream to come,” he said.

Fellow Haitian Zeke Isaac, who is from the same city as Bilou Isaac but has no known relation to him, started the student movement when he took 15 fellow Akron students back to his home country in 2014.

When the group came back, a push to “keep the momentum going” turned first into a student organization, then into a business making coffee from beans grown in Haiti. They’ve since raised $30,000.

Bilou Isaac stood out as a candidate for the scholarship because of his relationship with the group and his education experience in the United States. A group from the Akron suburb of Hudson had paid for him to attend Cuyahoga Community College, where he earned an associate degree, but he had to return to Haiti for lack of money to continue his education.

Once he received the Zips for Haiti scholarship, those credits transferred to UA, where he is finishing a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He wants to be an electrical engineer and help support his mother and two brothers in Haiti.

“I wouldn’t say I was desperate, but when I got this opportunity, my hope came back,” he said, adding that he feels blessed. Joanna Cardarelli, left, and Bilou Isaac connected when Cardarelli visited Isaac’s hometown with a University of Akron student group. Now Isaac attends the school on the group’s scholarship.