As a special education teaching assistant at E3 Academy in Providence, Henock Constant ’18 toured URI’s Kingston Campus so often with his students that he memorized the tour. But the parent of four who attempted college twice without finishing never imagined attending himself.

So, for Constant, the October 13, 2018, URI football game proved surreal. He sat in the president’s box as a URI 10 Under 10 Alumni Award recipient after a college career spanning two decades. “Sometimes I forget I’m a college graduate,” he says. “People have to remind me.”

Constant emigrated from Haiti in 1994 at age 19. He attended various schools in New York— earning a certificate, but no degree. Marriage and children came next. At E3 Academy, his colleagues saw his potential. The principal encouraged him to earn a college degree. In 2013, he called URI’s Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education and Professional Studies.

He met with now-Assistant Dean Tammy Warner and mapped a plan to earn a bachelor’s degree. The degree was within reach and he could enroll in evening classes in Providence—close to home. “I just sat there and said, ‘Why didn’t I do this before? Why did I wait that long?’” Constant says.

For the next five years, Warner and academic advisor Jeff Johnson rallied Constant to finish. When he hit low points, a perfectly timed, encouraging email would arrive from Nancy Rabidoux, coordinator of Finish What You Started, a program that’s steered more than 300 people like Constant to a URI degree. Johnson says the team effort, and Constant’s genuine desire to learn, set him apart. “We could all see a person who was going to be successful,” he says.

At home, Constant was motivated by his children and wife, Daphney, who was seeking her first college degree at the Community College of Rhode Island.

Now, with a bachelor’s degree done, he’s considering a master’s program with hopes of returning to Haiti to improve education for students with special needs. “Going in, I just wanted to finish college. Then I realized there are so many other things I can do now,” he says. “A degree has opened a lot of doors.”

Chris Barrett