When Gil Sander Joseph and Wilhem Hector, both now 24, first met as teenagers at Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague (ISLG), a Catholic school in Port-au-Prince, neither foresaw that a classroom rivalry would grow into a lifelong friendship spanning continents and world-class universities.
Before they became friends, teachers at their separate schools constantly compared them, urging each to outdo the other. By the time they finally shared a classroom at ISLG, rivalry had turned into respect — and then into a friendship built on mutual support.
“That incredible journey early on inspired us to motivate each other and draw strength and determination to accomplish what most in our upbringing thought was impossible,” Joseph said in an interview with The Haitian Times.
“Back then, we were just two kids with oversized dreams,” Hector recalled. “We didn’t know we were starting a friendship that would shape our futures. But we understood we could be much stronger by working together instead of competing against each other.”
From Port-au-Prince to the world with purpose
Their dreams soon carried them abroad. Each earned a scholarship to finish high school through the rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) program in Europe at two of the 18 United World Colleges ( UWC) — Joseph at UWC Robert Bosch College in Germany, Hector at UWC Red Cross Nordic in Norway. After receiving their IB diplomas in 2021, they moved to the United States for college.
Joseph enrolled at Princeton University, majoring in sociology with a minor in Latin American studies, while Hector began his studies in engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Both left behind parents and younger siblings in Haiti, determined to excel not only for themselves but for their families and their country.
“As I was about to complete my bachelor’s degree, I contemplated finding a job to be able to support my family instead of going to graduate school,” Hector said.
But their ambitions grew with each opportunity. Joseph graduated from Princeton and became a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University in California, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in international policy with a concentration in migration. Hector earned his degree in mechanical engineering from MIT and won a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he plans to focus his post-graduate studies on energy systems and environmental fluid mechanics.
Together, they made history by becoming the first Haitians ever to receive these two of the world’s most prestigious academic awards.
Joseph describes himself as deeply committed to migration justice. His research and fieldwork focus on equitable global migration governance, combining policy research with legal advocacy.
Both are fluent in four different languages.
Hector specializes in designing and optimizing renewable energy facilities worldwide. With experience in wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen and infrastructure projects, he brings technical expertise and a passion for sustainable development that he intends to implement in Haiti and the broader Caribbean region.
On his part, Joseph aims to work at the intersection of policy research and legal advocacy to promote fair global migration governance. At Princeton, under the guidance of Professor Filiz Garip, he conducted research on the decision-making process of Haitians living in São Paulo regarding whether to stay in Brazil or migrate to the U.S.
Outside of academia, both co-lead the Hector Foundation, a nonprofit they founded in 2019 to expand educational opportunities for young Haitians.