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Fritzner Soliman
"The encouragement I received from faculty members helped me adapt to my new environment, making me feel more comfortable and confident."
Leaving Haiti nearly ten years ago wasn't easy for Fritzner Soliman, and he still misses the hot weather, friends and family. But now that he has earned his associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees, and has found gainful employment as an actuarial associate for Towers Perrin, a consulting firm in Valhalla, NY, Soliman appreciates the opportunities offered by the U.S. "Here, it is like an open door. Back home, you don't have as many choices in terms of education and employment opportunities. Here I can expect to have a job and money my pocket."
His first foray into his new life in the U.S. began at RCC, where Soliman gained a foothold into his new country. "The encouragement I received from faculty members helped me adapt to my new environment, making me feel more comfortable and confident," says Soliman. So confident, in fact, that Soliman graduated with a GPA of 3.7. Encouraged by faculty members, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), earning a bachelor's and master's in Mathematics. While there, he co-authored papers with titles like "The Stability of Couette Flow in a Toroidal Magnetic Field," (published in Applied Mathematics Letters, Volume 19).
Soliman attributes his success at RPI to good preparation at RCC. "As my first college experience, RCC exposed me to the fundamental idea of being a college student. Taking ESL classes also helped me to grasp my adopted language."
He enjoys his work as an actuary, calculating risk and probability in the insurance field.
But Soliman's true passion is helping others learn. He served as a tutor at RCC and RPI, and as a Teaching Assistant during graduate study. He still provides private tutoring and in subjects such as chemistry, electric circuit, and math.
Soliman's dream is to return to Haiti to teach and to work in the industrial environment. He would also love to help immigrants like himself enjoy similar educational opportunities. "Hopefully, they will have a success story to tell one day."