Alumni Profile: Joel Francois '18
Joel Francois’18
English major and poet Joel Francois '18 was recently awarded $90,000 by the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans to pursue graduate studies at Syracuse University. Immigrating with his family from Haiti in 1995, Francois assumed that the best bet for him was a direct path to law school. But while majoring in English at Brooklyn College, he developed a love for writing, particularly poetry. His dedication to creative writing intensified when he joined the Brooklyn College Slam Poetry Team, where he learned about the craft of spoken word. He entered his first major slam poetry competition at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Manhattan. Beating out hundreds of poets, he was named the 2015 Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion.
While a Brooklyn College student, Francois continued to perform, and by 2017 he began shaping a career for himself as a poet. He traveled throughout the United States and the world performing and teaching workshops, with work that often focuses on love, race, and family. He is now pursuing his M.F.A. at Syracuse University, aided by his award. He was chosen to receive the merit-based fellowship from a pool of 2,211 applicants and is the second Brooklyn College graduate to win the fellowship, the first being Sophia Jan '02.
After his M.F.A., Francois plans to earn a Ph.D. so that he can establish a career that allows him to write, perform, teach, and research. He also wants to continue presenting storytelling workshops and eventually start a nonprofit organization to bring storytelling workshops to poor immigrant communities in the New York City area. "I am excited to see where my career takes me," Francois says. "I believe writers are the architects of humanity."
Back to Critical Thinking — May 2020
