By Alex Popa
Mitzy Jastram considers herself to be a strong, independent woman who’s been heavily influenced by her mother. Mitzy sees her mom as a role model who gave her valuable lessons and guidance. Mitzy was born in Port-au-Prince and moved to Florida to pursue her dreams.
Her Haitian heritage is apparent in her attitude, personality, and awareness. Mitzy realizes her life is undoubtedly difficult, partly due to her skin color and partly because of her status as an immigrant. “To be honest, being a Haitian living in America and being seen as an immigrant opened my eyes to how I need to work ten times, if not a hundred times harder than everybody else, just because I’m black and Haitian.”
But this doesn’t discourage her from chasing her goals. As she says, her Haitian blood guides her every move and thought.
“To be honest, being a Haitian living in America and being seen as an immigrant opened my eyes to how I need to work ten times, if not a hundred times harder than everybody else, just because I’m black and Haitian.”
Education and Work
Mitzy studied law at Universite Notre Dame d’Haiti and received a Child Psychology Certificate from Penn Foster University. Her education has opened several work and development avenues, as she loves both fields.
She works at SHISHA Lounge every other week, but never loses sight of her higher goals. She says her most prominent achievement so far has been taking part in the Let’s Talk Back show between 2019-2020, which allowed Mitzy to showcase her outgoing and charming personality and gave her the confidence she needed to communicate and make friends. This will serve her well in life as a Haitian whose goal is to integrate into American culture.
How She Spends Her Time
Mitzy loves to dance, walk on the beach, swim, watch and play soccer, listen to music, and take photos. She hosts events and parties from time to time for a dose of dopamine and socialization. As a free and calm spirit, Mitzy is often the soul of these events, charming everyone with her unique and vibrant presence.
But recreational activities take only a part of her time. Her main occupation is self-improvement, whether via education or work, as she’s involved in several projects.
Goals in Life
Mitzy is a talented, hard-working, and resourceful woman who has created multiple avenues for herself. Nothing is out of reach, as she displays a variety of talents, including article writing, hairdressing, dancing, and modeling. One of her drives in life is to help Haitian communities and support younger people on their way to building a better life for themselves and their families.
Mitzy believes addressing mental health issues among the lower-income population is one of the first steps that must be taken to improve their livelihoods. Especially when it comes to teenagers at the start of their journey. Her words are more telling than anything: “I would like the victims’ voices to be heard and hopefully to change some conceptions about mental health.”
