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HORIZONS Prohles
By auStin Vaughn
Staff writer
I
n 1999, at the age of 19, Allen Petit
Homme left his native Haiti with his
father and stepmother to explore new
opportunities in the United States. This is
a story shared by thousands of immigrants
throughout the ages, but for Petit Homme,
which in French means little man, it was
the true beginning of his life.
[It was] everything you could ever
dream of, said Petit Homme of New York
City, his new home after arriving in the
U.S. Having only seen Haiti since his birth
in 1980, New York must have seemed like
heaven to Petit Homme.
He expressed the amazing opportunity
free schooling provided, and he even said
he felt safer in New York than he did in
Haiti. In 2000, Petit Homme and his fam-
ily moved to Bridgeport where he attended
and graduated Bassik High School. Soon
after he was accepted to the University of
Bridgeport, where he studied business ad-
ministration. However, after three years,
Petit Homme felt a patriotic duty to his
new home and joined the United States
Marine Corps.
Petit Homme served in the Marine
infantry from 2004-2010, where he per-
formed three tours of duty, two in Iraq and
one in Afghanistan. He said that he had a
good life in the Marines and while over-
seas, despite being involved in a lot of
combat situations, Petit Homme said, I
dont get scared.
He says he has contemplated going back
to the Marines, but since 2010 he has been
attending Housatonic working towards a
Criminal Justice degree thanks to the ben-
efts oI the G.I. Bill. He plans to transIer to
the University oI Connecticut to fnish his
education, but Petit Homme doesnt know
where life will take him. However, wheth-
er he goes back to the Marines or pursues
a career in criminal justice, he knows that
he will enjoy the best that life has to of-
fer in his new home and be able to live the
American Dream.