Business, brains, and basketball: a college student’s journey to success

By JAYLIN ROUNDTREE
Contributing Writer

Junior business student and basketball player John Smith, 20, lives by his motto: “I have a bigger purpose.” As an aspiring entrepreneur at The College of Saint Rose, Smith’s college experience has been marked by his hard work and determination to achieve his goals. From growing up in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti with countless dreams and aspirations but limited opportunities and resources, to being an accomplished student athlete with the promise of success in his future, Smith’s story is nothing short of unique and inspiring. As he approaches the end of a rewarding third season as a guard for the Saint Rose Golden Knights, Smith reflects on the challenging yet triumphant path that led to this moment.

For Smith, attending The College of Saint Rose has been an amazing and special experience.

“It’s a great opportunity that I get to have,” said Smith. He chose to attend the college after a representative came to speak at his high school and he knew that Saint Rose was where he wanted to be.

As a scholarship athlete, Smith plans to graduate debt-free in May 2021 with two degrees: a B.A. in business with a concentration in finance and a B.A. in criminal justice. He aspires to secure a career that allows him to travel and see the world. Smith has big plans for the future and is confident that he will be able to fulfill them.

“John works really hard to accomplish his goals. He can do anything,” said Smith’s close friend Jamel Marcellin.

In addition to his major in Business and Finance, Smith’s interest in Forex Trading, or trading currencies within the Foreign Exchange Market, will also help to prepare him for his dream career as an entrepreneur. This is not just a hobby for him, however. Smith pays for his off-campus housing and helps his stepmom pay for rent back in his hometown of Baldwin on Long Island, N.Y. with his earnings.

Alongside pursuing a double major, playing basketball, and his involvement in Forex Trading, Smith also works more than 20 hours a week as a waiter at the local Olive Garden. Here he met his co-worker and friend Jaylah Bell who recognizes Smith’s hard work, kindness, and selflessness.

“John is always willing to offer his help in any way he can,” said Bell. “Anyone who has him in their lives is blessed and shouldn’t take that for granted.”

Smith is always keeping himself busy and said that working a job and being a student athlete can be really stressful.

“I gotta sacrifice a lot of things I wanna do,” said Smith, but he’s up for the challenge if it means pushing him to work towards his “bigger purpose.”

Smith has always been known for his determination and strong work ethic. Throughout his high school career at Baldwin High School in Baldwin, N.Y. and Hialeah Senior High School in Hialeah, Fla., Smith was a principal honor roll student, played several sports including basketball, volleyball, soccer, and football, and mastered four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Creole. Smith was a member of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project in Miami Gardens, Fla. as well, which was a program that worked admirably to help young “at-risk” black men in the community transition into adulthood. His involvement in this project was a key moment in Smith’s life and he intends to be an excellent role model for the son he would like to have in the future.

“I wanna be there for him,” Smith said, “because my father wasn’t really there for me.” He also hopes that his son will share his love of basketball.

Reaching success as both a student and as a collegiate athlete has not been an easy journey for Smith. Growing up, he faced many obstacles. Smith was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti and lived there with his mom, stepdad, and two brothers—one older and one younger—from his mom’s side. Life in Haiti was much different than life in New York, Smith said. In Haiti, he didn’t have access to free education and he and his family struggled with a great deal of financial hardship. He enjoyed his life in Haiti though.

“I think it’s a good country to be in,” said Smith, “but it’s limited in opportunities.”

In search of a better life, Smith and his stepdad moved to Miami Gardens, Fla. in 2009. The climate in Haiti was very dangerous at the time according to Smith and he and his family were in search of safety and security in the U.S. Shortly after they moved to Florida, the 2010 Haiti earthquake struck Smith’s hometown in January of that year. The catastrophic 7.0 Mw magnitude earthquake changed Smith’s life forever. With an epicenter just 15 miles West of Port-Au-Prince and a reported death-toll of 230,000, he lost a lot of his family and friends to the earthquake. Smith has captured this tragic moment in his life with his first and only tattoo which showcases a map of Haiti and the earthquake’s epicenter location and magnitude. This tattoo is both in memoriam of his lost family and friends and a reminder of the life he overcame.

During Smith’s eighth grade year, his stepdad left him and his stepmom in Florida. He struggled with this a lot and it caused a significant amount of pain and stress for his family.

“We had to move out several times,” said Smith. He and his stepmom moved to Long Island, N.Y. in July 2015 where they stayed with his stepmom’s uncle until December of that year when they moved out due to his stepmom’s uncle being too controlling. Smith and his stepmom moved several more times before finding their current home. It is here where Smith really found himself and gained a stable footing in life. He excelled academically and athletically in high school and held several jobs including his first job working at Wendy’s, followed by positions at both Popeyes and Best Buy.

After graduating from Baldwin High School in 2017, Smith was thrilled to be able to join the Golden Knight’s basketball team at The College of Saint Rose. He was recruited after meeting the Golden Knights head coach Mike Perno who knew Smith’s high school basketball coach. Smith’s experience on the team hasn’t been the best, however. Although he loves basketball, he said that he doesn’t get as much playing time as he’d like. Despite this, when Smith gets in the game, he plays hard. With a season high of seven points scored against Saint Anselm College last month and being named to the Northeast-10 Conference Academic Honor Roll for the Fall semester, Smith has contributed a lot to his team and strives to be a better teammate and player every day.

Smith has a long way to go before he reaches his dream of becoming an entrepreneur and is able to travel the world. His journey to success will certainly not be easy, but Smith has no doubt that he will be able to accomplish his goals as demonstrated through his determination, hard work, and purpose. His journey begins now.