In addition to living in another country for a summer while a student at Northwestern College, Joseph is married to a Haitian man. Both experiences have given her a special understanding of the challenges Northwestern’s international students face when living in another culture.

Support system
Joseph works closely with Kelly Schmidt, Northwestern’s international admissions and financial aid counselor. After international students have applied, Joseph helps them prepare for their arrival on campus, and once they are here, she leads the orientation for international students and helps them adapt to life in the United States. Joseph teaches Introduction to American Culture, a required course for all incoming international students. She also helps international students with required paperwork and all the things they need to have and know in order to remain in status while studying in the U.S.

International travel
Joseph graduated from Northwestern College with a major in social work. As a student, she served as a mentor for other students, was involved in the La Mosaic multicultural student club, and was one of the student coordinators for NWC’s Spring Service Partnerships short-term mission trips. She also spent a summer in Haiti through the college’s Summer of Service program.

Personal experience
While in Haiti, Joseph met her future husband, Elesson (Papito) Joseph. Through that relationship, she became immersed in the complexities of immigration law as she and Papito made plans to marry and establish a home in the United States. Papito moved to the U.S. in 2015, and she helped him navigate his new life in America—an experience that gave her an understanding of the challenges and obstacles international students face when they choose to study in the United States.

Giving back
Since living in Haiti, Joseph has become involved with two non-profit organizations that work in rural Haitian communities: Children of the Promise and Touch of Hope Haiti. She and her husband also started their own organization, Radiate Haiti Ministries, which works in Papito’s home village to send children to school and to meet other needs as they arise.