October 12, 2025 • 27 mins
Listen as Raven Heyward, founder and host of DiversifyHER, converses with Wilhem Hector, born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, graduated Summa Cum Laude from MIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and made history as the first Haitian national awarded a Global Rhodes Scholarship. He will pursue a PhD in energy systems at Oxford, aiming to pioneer Haiti’s renewable energy infrastructure and expand hands-on learning in the national curriculum.
Connect with Hector!
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilhem-hector/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello everyone and welcome back to Diversified
Heart Podcast.
I'm your host, Raymond Hayward,and today I'm honored to have
Willem Hector.
He's born and raised inPort-au-Prince, Haiti, graduated
Silicon Lodge from MIT with adegree in mechanical engineering
and made history as the firstHaitian national awarded a
global roads scholarship.
(00:21):
He will pursue a PhD in energysystems at Oxford, aiming to
pioneer Haiti's renewable energyinfrastructure and expand
hands-on learning in nationalcurriculum.
Beyond academics, he leads theHector Foundation, raising over
$100,000 to support educationalopportunities, including
building project minutes forHaiti's first open-use energy
(00:44):
engineering making space.
His passion for energy grewthrough research at MIC Howland
Lab, where he studied wind poweruncertainty and the MIC
Renewable Energy Clinic, wherehe explored opposition to U.S.
energy projects.
He also contributed to thecomputational wind farming
modeling through internships inRadio Incorporation and DTU Wind
(01:09):
Energy Systems, recognized withover eight awards, including the
Susan Berger Award for FutureGlobal Leaders and the National
Society of Black Engineers Awardfor Academic Excellence.
He also chaired MIT's largestevent planning group, the
Student Events Board.
And prior to MIT, he studied atthe institution St.
Louis doing can you pronouncethat?
SPEAKER_02 (01:32):
Sorry, Kozak.
SPEAKER_00 (01:34):
In Haiti and the UWC Red Gross, Nordic in Norway.
Hector, thank you so much forjoining me.
This has been a long-awaitedepisode.
I really appreciate it.
How are you doing today?
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
I'm doing good.
Um, thanks, thanks for hostingme, Raymond.
I've been a big, big fan of thepodcast.
Um, so it's a pleasure um to bein uh on today's episode.
SPEAKER_00 (01:55):
Oh, I'm glad.
So I want to get us started withyou've had such a unique journey
growing up in Haiti and studyingin Norway, and now becoming the
first Haitian road scholar.
Can you just walk us throughwhat experiences and influences
led you to where you are today?
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
That's a good question.
Yeah, I mean, um, I was born andraised in Haiti, lived there um
my whole life basically, uh in asmall and vivid neighborhood um
called Monnaza in in the middleof the capital.
Um and I was always very umpassionate about learning, about
education in general.
Um so at a very early age, um Irecognized that education was
(02:40):
not just, you know, schoolitself was just not a space
where I could learn things.
It was my ticket to life.
It was basically some sort oflike space that could channel me
through opportunities that willthen help my family sort of uh
get get some better futuresomeday.
Um so I took school veryseriously, I took my education
very seriously.
Um and at a very early age Isort of sought scholarships and
(03:03):
ways um to alleviate thefinancial burden on my parents
um back, but also ways to justleave Haiti to pursue more
advanced opportunities.
So that's why at the end of myhigh school, I got a scholarship
to um pursue the internationalbaccalaureate program in Norway.
I moved there, um, spent twoyears there, some of the best
two years of my life.
(03:23):
And from Norway applied to MIT,got in, um, spent some great
years at MIT as well.
And then now I'm heading toOxford um for another two to
four years.
So I think when I think aboutinfluences, um a lot of it comes
from my family.
I think I I come from um afamily uh who understood the
(03:44):
value of education and its powerum to um sort of create
different narratives for us as agroup.
Um, but I also come from afamily who understood public
service as a need in one's life.
Um so very early on, I remembervery vividly my mom, you know,
making food uh on the 1st ofJanuary, which is kind of like
(04:05):
our biggest um celebration.
And and you know, we do thepumpkin soup and all the
neighbors do pumpkin soup.
But I should wake up so early tomake a huge ton, a ton of
pumpkin soup, and share it withthe rest of the people.
And and I grew up with values ofpublic service very early on,
and that's why today publicservice kind of remained uh a
core aspect of my life, and thatwas one of the biggest trends in
(04:26):
my life over the years.
And I think that's alsosomething that has allowed
people to not only appreciate meas a as a you know as a worker,
but also just as a human being.
Um, so that's one influence Ithink that was very, very
important.
Um, and the last but not leastis really sort of an influence
that put, you know, influencesthat that put people first.
(04:46):
Um wherever I go, I try tocreate community.
And by creating community, youyou receive love.
And that one of my favoritesayings is that you know, it is
in giving that you receive loveback.
Um so whenever, wherever I go, Ipour a lot of love in the
community and I receive a lot oflove back.
And as a result, there's tons ofpeople that are ready to sort of
(05:07):
like put their things aside tosupport me in areas that I may
not be as good at, you know,when I'm alone.
And those things have beenextremely influential to kind of
helping me move through spaces.
SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
I really love that.
And like with the aspect ofservant leadership, I feel like
my parents have definitelyinstilled those same values in
me as well, and just theimportance of having empathy and
as you said, like giving back toothers because you it's
important to constantly corepour into the community that's
also pouring into you.
And so I also want to know whatmotivated you to want to pursue
(05:42):
mechanical engineering and theleadership in your focus towards
renewable energy systems and thework that you're doing in Haiti.
What was their like what was adefining moment where you
realized that this was yourpassion?
Like, is there a certain eventthat happened and you were like,
this is what I want to do?
Or was it just you doing trialand error and figuring out
(06:05):
different things?
Like, how did you know that thatwas your niche?
SPEAKER_02 (06:08):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I think one of the biggest flawsof the Haitian education system
is the lack of um practicalopportunities.
So as as as you grow up inHaiti, you're told that there
are paths that will set you upfor success.
You can become a doctor, you canbecome a lawyer, you can become
an engineer.
Just those are kind of thingsthat you know.
(06:29):
But there is not enoughpractical experiences such that
you can actually be niche, youcan actually find a path like
energy that's something assomething that would be
interesting to you.
However, growing up in Haiti, Ialso struggle a lot with like um
load shedding.
Um so we didn't haveelectricity.
Uh so I would go to school umlike eight and come back like 5
(06:49):
p.m.
Um and I would have to study.
And and oftentimes we wouldn'thave power in the house, like
basic power, like we know ittoday, as a commodity that we
take for granted.
There are places where we we arein darkness, we're using um kind
of um uh natural gas lamps umand other types of you know
battery-powered lights andwhatnot to study.
(07:09):
Um so very early on, I knew thatthe energy space was something
that was troublesome for me.
Um, and I wanted to do somethingin the energy sector.
But it wasn't until I got toNorway um where I entered I
started interacting withrenewable energy because up
until I moved to Norway in 2019,I didn't know what renewable
energy was.
Um and I saw Norway had 80, 98%of their power coming from
(07:31):
hydropower and wind.
And and I was like, wow, we canyou can actually have constant
power, but you can also do it ina very clean fashion.
Um so that's that was the sparkfor me, I think.
Oh, renewable energy issomething that I'm interested in
because I was already interestedin the power sector.
Um, so I wanted to dive deeperinto that space of you know
building efficient energysystems around the world,
(07:52):
especially in countries likeHaiti, where we can sort of like
face that load shedding umproblem.
And I think now that passion wasthere when I got to MIT,
mechanical engineering just madesense.
Um there wasn't any particularreason why I chose mechanical
engineering, kind of made sensein terms of like what I wanted
to do, and then that's that wasthe that was the path from
(08:12):
there.
SPEAKER_00 (08:13):
Wow, that's incredible.
So with you having that specificmajor and with you doing those
things at MIT, and especiallywith you just being from Haiti
and you mentioning Norway andthen now coming to the United
States, like how have you seenmaybe the education systems like
differ?
(08:33):
And through that, like how haveyou been able to adapt?
Because I can only imagine likehow difficult that may have
been, if even difficult for youat all.
But could you just explain moreabout your experiences with
those things?
SPEAKER_02 (08:47):
That is a very, very good question.
Um, and and uh every singlechapter of my life so far, I
guess of my educational journeyhas been like kind of stark
difference.
Um, as I mentioned initially,Haiti is a theory-driven
country.
We follow the French educationmodel where we memorize things
(09:08):
and we go split it on the examsheet.
Um so that was that was, I wouldsay, formative years where I had
to, I think I build up a lot ofyou know theor, like fundamental
principle theories in my head.
Um, but I things that I couldnever apply.
Like I would, I could recite theperiodic table for you without
(09:28):
knowing what are the differencesbetween the two, between two
elements, like how would theyreact if they were, you know.
Um, so it was a lot of theories,which I'm grateful for these
years because I I managed togather a ton of, you know,
practical knowledge, notpractical, I guess, fundamental
knowledge, which then kind ofallowed me to maybe flourish
more in the other spaces that Iwent.
(09:49):
And when I went to Norway now,Norway was a striking difference
first because I the number ofclasses you had to take was
extremely low.
Like I was taking six classes.
I discovered the idea of likechoosing your track, choosing
your classes in Norway.
This thing doesn't exist inHaiti.
In Haiti, you have 18 subjectsto watch your entire life.
(10:10):
You have to do all of them.
You have to do math, you have todo religion, you have to do
geography, history, everything.
But then I got to Norway,they're like, pick what you
like.
And I did, huh?
I'm like, I'm a science guy, soI'm gonna do math, I'll do
physics, um, and I'll dolanguages and econ.
And that was six, my sixclasses.
Um, so that education um wasdifferent from that perspective
where I now startedspecializing, maybe not
(10:33):
specializing from theperspective of choosing a field,
but taking the skills that Ialready had and starting to
deepen them.
Um, that was those years, thosetwo years in Norway.
And the education in Norway wasalso not just focused on
academics, it was a globaleducation.
We did the IB, the internationalbaccalaureate as our kind of
educational, like as ourday-to-day studies.
(10:54):
But then the UWC as a whole is ahub to create leaders that
understand the value ofdiversity and and understand how
we in general as people arestronger when we are together.
So we were living on a campuswith 200 students from like over
85 nations.
So we were learning from eachother beyond, outside of the
classroom throughextracurriculars, um doing
(11:16):
projects-based learningactivities.
Um, and those things, again,they helped me, I would say,
become the global citizen that Ithink I am today.
Um, because I know I feel veryconfident that I can engage and
flourish in any community inregard, regardless of the
country in which it is.
And those those years for surehave come from Norway.
(11:37):
When I then moved to MIT, well,MIT as we know it, it's to me
the best institution to studyscience in the entire world.
Um, it's it's it's like theeducation is just top-notch.
So when I MIT made me anengineer, MIT gave me the um
confidence in my ability tobuild anything, the confidence
(11:59):
in my ability to solve anything.
Um and that is just kind of fromthe rigor of you know of MIT,
you know, diving into lots offundamental theoretical things,
but also having a breadth of umpractical experiences.
At MIT, there are these thingscalled makerspaces, um, which
inspired Project Manus, becausethere is a Project Manus at MIT
(12:20):
where they build thosemakerspaces all around campus,
where you can just go and buildthings.
Makerspaces don't just allow youto build things, it empowers you
to think that you can buildanything.
Um, and I think those those werecrucial during my time at MIT,
getting that confidence in mycompetence, if you if you would
call it like that.
So these three have beendifferent.
I'm hoping that my time atOxford is gonna be a different
(12:40):
chapter, different kind of likefrom the other three as well.
SPEAKER_00 (12:43):
Yeah, so what are you looking forward to with
going to Oxford?
That was I'm glad you mentionedthat.
That's a good segue becausethrough you know your three
different education experiencesthat you've had thus far, what
are you looking forward to withthis next chapter at Oxford?
SPEAKER_02 (13:01):
That's a good question.
I think, you know, I I I haven'ttaken much time to think about
that.
Maybe I should.
Um but I would say at Oxford oneof the main things that I'm
looking forward to right now islike I've I've been very much
like a generalist over the pastyears.
Like I've done, I do a lot ofthings.
(13:21):
Um I study mechanicalengineering, but I I teach
myself things in energy, sothat's what my focus is.
I do robotics, I do all kinds ofthings.
Yeah, um, I do all kinds ofthings.
Um, but then I know that youknow my future is in the energy
systems.
I want to build energy systemsin the Caribbean region.
That's my goal.
Um, and I think Oxford is gonnaplay the most important role in
(13:44):
that, in helping me grow closerto that future.
Um, so at Oxford, I really wantto specialize in energy systems.
I don't want to do anythingwithout the intention of
becoming somebody who will bemore efficient at creating those
um systems.
Um, because I don't want to signup to random clubs and and you
know, I I want to really focus.
So I think Oxford is gonna bethe actual specialization years
(14:08):
where I'm I become an expert atthe field of energy systems.
Um, and then again, Oxford isalso at near London, which is
sort of like a you know culturalcorner of the world with people
coming from all over the place.
Um, I'm also looking forward tojust you know enhancing my
understanding of cultures andpeople um and also helping them
get you know a better sense ofwhat Haiti is through some of
(14:30):
the stories that I will that Iwill be counting them.
SPEAKER_00 (14:33):
I love that.
So I'm glad that you mentionedthe different culture aspects
because I want to ask with younavigating these different
spaces that you've been in andbeing proud of where you're from
and your heritage and you know,representing your family name
well.
For my listeners who may betrying to navigate their own
(14:54):
spaces and trying to figure outhow they can make their own
impact and have the confidenceto kind of just make the first
move.
What would be your advice orwhat has helped you to still
stay true to yourself even inthese different spaces and make
a name for yourself?
SPEAKER_02 (15:14):
Yeah, that's a good, that's a good question.
I I think I'm trying to thinkabout, you know, when I left
Haiti for the first time, youknow, when I was moving to
Norway, it was a big shift.
It was, you know, I'm leaving,I'm leaving my family while I'm
still young to go to a somecountry I'd never heard of,
never seen snow in my life, andI'm like, okay, I'm going to the
(15:34):
Nordic region.
Um so I guess at that moment Idon't necessarily know what I
was thinking about, but as I tryto reason through times and and
and I'm trying to think of whatcould I be thinking about, I
think one of those things wasfirst of all kind of telling
myself that there are reasons tolive for that are bigger bigger
(15:58):
than oneself.
So you're living, you're leavingyour country and you're gonna
live somewhere else.
Um and there are a lot of thingsthat you can do to make yourself
the greatest, you know, pursuethe best opportunities, doing
things, connecting with peoplethat are gonna advance your
career and whatnot.
But then ultimately a lot ofthese things are for you.
They are for yourself.
(16:18):
The things that are bigger thanyourself are things like your
family, your your culture, yourheritage.
You know, when you think of acountry like Haiti that has so
much negative narratives aroundit, um, I have a responsibility
if I can get to those spaces andbreak some of these narratives
and show that, you know, thereare there is excellence, there
is you know greatness that cancome out of Haiti.
(16:39):
It's a responsibility on me.
It's not just something that Ishould contemplate.
This is something that I need tobe doing.
Um so I think recognizing thatlike I was not only living for
myself, but also the people thatI represent was very sort of
like fueling for me when I gotto those spaces because then I
remember that like there arethings that I need to be doing
for myself, but there are alsoother things that I need to be
doing, such that people ofHaiti, my family, can be proud
(17:02):
and they can know that I'mbearing the flag as I should, as
I as I as I should.
Um the other thing, I guess,that's more like when you're
leaving the your your hometown.
But when you get there, I wouldsay it's very important to take
space.
You know, like it's uh thesespaces could be intimidating,
especially if you're traveling,you go on a scholarship, or
maybe you're just traveling, yougo against your community that's
(17:23):
unknown.
These things can create a lot ofanxiety.
Like if you're on a scholarship,you're around a bunch of other
kids who think they've been thething for their entire life.
And then you get there, you'relike, oh, maybe I've thought
that I've been the thing too,but like maybe not.
Um all of these things create alot of anxiety, or you move to a
new place and you're seeingeverything is so different from
things that you've beencomfortable with, things that
(17:44):
you've you've known as truth.
So it's hard to kind of it'seasy to kind of put yourself in
the your shell and be like,okay, yeah, I'm just gonna do my
thing here, like doing that, doI what I need to do.
But I think it's also importantto challenge some of these
thoughts to be like, huh, whatif I actually decided to not
share myself?
What what are the possibilitiesand what is the worst thing that
(18:06):
can happen?
The worst thing that can happenoftentimes not that bad.
Um so I think taking space inthose things, signing up for
those clubs, signing up forthese leadership roles that you
may have doubted yourself to beable to do before, um, you know,
is important because then itallows you to sort of like in
the same, you know, alley ofrepresenting your country, but
(18:27):
it's it allows you to gain theskills that in at some point in
your career will be extremelyuseful, um, that can sort of be
put at at some other to someother use as well.
SPEAKER_00 (18:36):
Yeah.
I think that's really goodadvice.
And, you know, it keeps youhumble, it keeps you grounded to
just always remember that thereis something bigger than you and
you have something that you'realways working towards, but just
keeping the bigger picture inmind.
And you mentioning, you know,representing your country well
(18:56):
and wearing the flag with pride,but I want to now talk about
your foundation, the HectorFoundation.
So I mentioned that you'veraised over$100,000 and you even
built Haiti's first open useengineering makerspace.
Was that through MIT where youwere able to do that, or you did
that before?
SPEAKER_02 (19:16):
Yeah, so what I the the yeah, so the Hector
Foundation itself is a is anonprofit that I co-founded in
2019.
As soon as I left Haiti, I in myfirst week in OE, actually.
Um I I texted my best friend andtell him, told him, hey man,
like I'm around, I'm seeing allthese kids, everybody wanna be a
leader, everybody wants to dothings.
(19:37):
I'm like, we kind of have to dosomething too.
And we we started it as aproject, we wanted to do a
summer program, and that summerprogram ended up being
successful.
It's become our flagship programnow, and we said, okay, we're
gonna turn this into anorganization.
And we've been working on thissince for the past six years.
And what the Ectora Foundationdoes today is sort of create
advanced educationalopportunities for young Haitians
(19:58):
in Haiti, regardless of theirsocial class, we try to create
free opportunities, um, whetherit is Flower Store Program or,
as you mentioned, themakerspace.
So that makerspace is our secondflagship project.
Um I started designing it in2022 while I was still at MIT.
And the inspiration came fromMIT because, as I said, MIT has
(20:19):
those makerspaces that allowedme to be that engineer that I
think I am today, to haveconfidence in my ability to
solve things just by being inthis space, building things, and
I'm like, wow, this is very,very empowering.
So I wanted to create somethingsimilar for Haitian students
that have been where they have auh like a national curriculum
that is so focused on theory.
People don't go in spaces andtry to make things.
(20:42):
Um so I started designing thespace in 2022.
Um, I raised funds throughoutMIT, to project competition.
I think we raised about 32,000um between 2022 and 2023 um to
build a space.
Um and then I I did the wholemock-up, the whole design of the
space, bought the tools, thenflew to Haiti and then built a
(21:02):
space uh in August of 2023, andwe inaugurated the space then.
So what the space is right nowis basically a hub for
engineering.
We have a bunch of tools and weoffer free robotics training
camps um for every weekend forstudents um across the capital.
And we've we've empowered quitea few students already.
We we have over 200 alumniwho've come to the space,
(21:23):
learned the tools, and kind ofdone different robotics programs
that we that we have.
Um so the space right now is isthat hub.
We are hoping that it's gonnacontinue to grow, it's gonna
continue to inspire morepractical opportunities in the
Haitian educational curriculum.
Um, and and hopefully we canhave those spaces all around the
country at some point in thefuture.
SPEAKER_00 (21:43):
That's amazing.
Like I think it truly isincredible the opportunities
that you're able to create forthose children.
And I want to know what has beenthe most rewarding part of the
Hector Foundation and all thehard work that your best friend
and you have put into it, what'sbeen the most important thing?
SPEAKER_02 (22:02):
Yeah, I think I think the most rewarding part
for me is recognizing thatthrough the Hector Foundation we
are ensuring that him and I weare no, we are not exceptions.
You know, I I I went to schoolin Haiti my entire life.
My family was very modestfamily.
(22:24):
We didn't have a lot, but as Isaid, through education, I got
scholarships.
Like I I went on and lived inover 13 countries, and not a
single one of these countrieshave paid a single buck.
I've always been onscholarships, people paying me
to be there as a result of someeducational program.
My friend also had a similarjourney.
We sat on the same bench inHaiti.
Uh, when I went to Norway, hegot the same scholarship he went
(22:45):
to Germany.
And then from Germany, he wentto Princeton University.
And after Princeton, he joinedthe Board of Trustees of
Princeton and became the firstHaitian national to win the
Knight Hennessy Scholarship atStanford.
So he is currently at Stanforddoing his thing.
Um and as much as we hate tosay, we are exception of the
systems.
(23:06):
Most people don't go throughthese spheres, hence uh hence
why we are the first doing XYZ.
We are the first of whatever.
Um it's cool to say you're thefirst, but then it's even cooler
to say that you will not be thefirst for long enough.
So I think the most rewardingthing for us is really making
sure that we are not exceptions.
With the Hector Foundation,we've created these programs as
(23:28):
a way to create pathways forother kids to benefit from the
opportunities that we oncebenefited.
We want more kids to uh getadmitted to UWC.
Um we want more kids to getadmitted to these prestigious
universities, we want more kidsto win roads night hennesty
scholarships.
And that's what we are workingtowards.
And I think when we see ourstudents get UWC scholarships
(23:48):
after they participated in oursummer program, um get admitted
to universities.
There's one girl who just got uhadmitted to UPEN, she's now
studying finance there, um, andshe's a product of our of our of
our foundation.
I think those are the mostrewarding thing because we are
making sure that like those, youknow, however lucky we were to
get those things, we're makingsure that other people can also
(24:09):
be lucky.
And I and I think that there isno there there's no greater
value than that.
SPEAKER_00 (24:14):
That is truly amazing.
That's what it's all about.
And I'm sure that that's whatyou envisioned, or if even if
you didn't envision, I'm surelike that's what you continue to
hope and wish for for all thestudents who go through your
program.
And I love how you said, youknow, even though y'all are the
first, like you don't want to bethe first for long.
(24:35):
And I think that that just goesalong with kind of the way I
envision things, with you know,as you're creating these
opportunities and you'reclimbing up the ladder, making
sure to reach back to bringothers up with you as well.
And like if you open a door,leave it open so that others can
follow you and walk throughthat.
So I just want to thank you somuch.
This has been such a greatinterview so far.
(24:57):
I've loved hearing about yourstory.
I can't wait to see what you doin Oxford.
You know, I'll be here tosupport you along the way.
And I'm sure that my listenerswill now also be a part of your
support system hearing you onand can't wait to see you do
amazing things.
And so as I come to the end ofthe episode, I have a signature
question that I ask, which iswhat's one piece of advice you
(25:19):
would give Gen Z to go out anddiversify themselves?
So, not just in career choices,but like in a mindset.
So, like networks andopportunities basically to make
their greatest impact on theworld.
SPEAKER_02 (25:34):
Yeah.
That's a good question.
I think, I think um the bigpiece of advice I would say, you
know, is for everybody torecognize that their
authenticity is their greatestweapon, it's their greatest
strength.
Um you want to remain true towho you are, um, and you need to
(25:56):
be confident that there arepeople who are interested in
knowing and engaging with whoyou are.
Um so be confident in yourheritage, be confident in the
stories that your family, youryou know, your life experiences
have given you, um, and tellthose stories.
Tell them not just through youknow, you know, talking to
(26:17):
people, but tell them throughyour actions, in the way that
you behave, in the way that youinteract with you know systems
and communities in which you go.
And all of these things, likeyou know, the type of clubs, the
type of initiative you start,they continue telling the
stories that make you you.
So be confident in your stories,be confident in your in your
heritage, on who you are, um,and and go out there, share it
(26:39):
with with with others throughactions and also through through
the verb.
SPEAKER_00 (26:44):
I love that.
Thank you again so much.
I think you dropped some greatgolden nuggets, pieces of
advice, and just through yourmindset and like us kind of
getting to look into your brainand the way that you think about
things, you know, it definitelyopened up my perspective and I
learned a lot.
And I hope the listeners learneda lot too.
(27:06):
And I'll be sure to have yourLinkedIn in the bio below so
that if anyone wants to connectwith you or ask follow-up
questions or learn more aboutyour foundation, they can reach
out to you.
Um, thank you again for theinterview.
Thank you, everyone, listening,and I'll catch you next time on
that.
Hello everyone and welcome back to Diversified
Heart Podcast.
I'm your host, Raymond Hayward,and today I'm honored to have
Willem Hector.
He's born and raised inPort-au-Prince, Haiti, graduated
Silicon Lodge from MIT with adegree in mechanical engineering
and made history as the firstHaitian national awarded a
global roads scholarship.
(00:21):
He will pursue a PhD in energysystems at Oxford, aiming to
pioneer Haiti's renewable energyinfrastructure and expand
hands-on learning in nationalcurriculum.
Beyond academics, he leads theHector Foundation, raising over
$100,000 to support educationalopportunities, including
building project minutes forHaiti's first open-use energy
(00:44):
engineering making space.
His passion for energy grewthrough research at MIC Howland
Lab, where he studied wind poweruncertainty and the MIC
Renewable Energy Clinic, wherehe explored opposition to U.S.
energy projects.
He also contributed to thecomputational wind farming
modeling through internships inRadio Incorporation and DTU Wind
(01:09):
Energy Systems, recognized withover eight awards, including the
Susan Berger Award for FutureGlobal Leaders and the National
Society of Black Engineers Awardfor Academic Excellence.
He also chaired MIT's largestevent planning group, the
Student Events Board.
And prior to MIT, he studied atthe institution St.
Louis doing can you pronouncethat?
SPEAKER_02 (01:32):
Sorry, Kozak.
SPEAKER_00 (01:34):
In Haiti and the UWC Red Gross, Nordic in Norway.
Hector, thank you so much forjoining me.
This has been a long-awaitedepisode.
I really appreciate it.
How are you doing today?
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
I'm doing good.
Um, thanks, thanks for hostingme, Raymond.
I've been a big, big fan of thepodcast.
Um, so it's a pleasure um to bein uh on today's episode.
SPEAKER_00 (01:55):
Oh, I'm glad.
So I want to get us started withyou've had such a unique journey
growing up in Haiti and studyingin Norway, and now becoming the
first Haitian road scholar.
Can you just walk us throughwhat experiences and influences
led you to where you are today?
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
That's a good question.
Yeah, I mean, um, I was born andraised in Haiti, lived there um
my whole life basically, uh in asmall and vivid neighborhood um
called Monnaza in in the middleof the capital.
Um and I was always very umpassionate about learning, about
education in general.
Um so at a very early age, um Irecognized that education was
(02:40):
not just, you know, schoolitself was just not a space
where I could learn things.
It was my ticket to life.
It was basically some sort oflike space that could channel me
through opportunities that willthen help my family sort of uh
get get some better futuresomeday.
Um so I took school veryseriously, I took my education
very seriously.
Um and at a very early age Isort of sought scholarships and
(03:03):
ways um to alleviate thefinancial burden on my parents
um back, but also ways to justleave Haiti to pursue more
advanced opportunities.
So that's why at the end of myhigh school, I got a scholarship
to um pursue the internationalbaccalaureate program in Norway.
I moved there, um, spent twoyears there, some of the best
two years of my life.
(03:23):
And from Norway applied to MIT,got in, um, spent some great
years at MIT as well.
And then now I'm heading toOxford um for another two to
four years.
So I think when I think aboutinfluences, um a lot of it comes
from my family.
I think I I come from um afamily uh who understood the
(03:44):
value of education and its powerum to um sort of create
different narratives for us as agroup.
Um, but I also come from afamily who understood public
service as a need in one's life.
Um so very early on, I remembervery vividly my mom, you know,
making food uh on the 1st ofJanuary, which is kind of like
(04:05):
our biggest um celebration.
And and you know, we do thepumpkin soup and all the
neighbors do pumpkin soup.
But I should wake up so early tomake a huge ton, a ton of
pumpkin soup, and share it withthe rest of the people.
And and I grew up with values ofpublic service very early on,
and that's why today publicservice kind of remained uh a
core aspect of my life, and thatwas one of the biggest trends in
(04:26):
my life over the years.
And I think that's alsosomething that has allowed
people to not only appreciate meas a as a you know as a worker,
but also just as a human being.
Um, so that's one influence Ithink that was very, very
important.
Um, and the last but not leastis really sort of an influence
that put, you know, influencesthat that put people first.
(04:46):
Um wherever I go, I try tocreate community.
And by creating community, youyou receive love.
And that one of my favoritesayings is that you know, it is
in giving that you receive loveback.
Um so whenever, wherever I go, Ipour a lot of love in the
community and I receive a lot oflove back.
And as a result, there's tons ofpeople that are ready to sort of
(05:07):
like put their things aside tosupport me in areas that I may
not be as good at, you know,when I'm alone.
And those things have beenextremely influential to kind of
helping me move through spaces.
SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
I really love that.
And like with the aspect ofservant leadership, I feel like
my parents have definitelyinstilled those same values in
me as well, and just theimportance of having empathy and
as you said, like giving back toothers because you it's
important to constantly corepour into the community that's
also pouring into you.
And so I also want to know whatmotivated you to want to pursue
(05:42):
mechanical engineering and theleadership in your focus towards
renewable energy systems and thework that you're doing in Haiti.
What was their like what was adefining moment where you
realized that this was yourpassion?
Like, is there a certain eventthat happened and you were like,
this is what I want to do?
Or was it just you doing trialand error and figuring out
(06:05):
different things?
Like, how did you know that thatwas your niche?
SPEAKER_02 (06:08):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I think one of the biggest flawsof the Haitian education system
is the lack of um practicalopportunities.
So as as as you grow up inHaiti, you're told that there
are paths that will set you upfor success.
You can become a doctor, you canbecome a lawyer, you can become
an engineer.
Just those are kind of thingsthat you know.
(06:29):
But there is not enoughpractical experiences such that
you can actually be niche, youcan actually find a path like
energy that's something assomething that would be
interesting to you.
However, growing up in Haiti, Ialso struggle a lot with like um
load shedding.
Um so we didn't haveelectricity.
Uh so I would go to school umlike eight and come back like 5
(06:49):
p.m.
Um and I would have to study.
And and oftentimes we wouldn'thave power in the house, like
basic power, like we know ittoday, as a commodity that we
take for granted.
There are places where we we arein darkness, we're using um kind
of um uh natural gas lamps umand other types of you know
battery-powered lights andwhatnot to study.
(07:09):
Um so very early on, I knew thatthe energy space was something
that was troublesome for me.
Um, and I wanted to do somethingin the energy sector.
But it wasn't until I got toNorway um where I entered I
started interacting withrenewable energy because up
until I moved to Norway in 2019,I didn't know what renewable
energy was.
Um and I saw Norway had 80, 98%of their power coming from
(07:31):
hydropower and wind.
And and I was like, wow, we canyou can actually have constant
power, but you can also do it ina very clean fashion.
Um so that's that was the sparkfor me, I think.
Oh, renewable energy issomething that I'm interested in
because I was already interestedin the power sector.
Um, so I wanted to dive deeperinto that space of you know
building efficient energysystems around the world,
(07:52):
especially in countries likeHaiti, where we can sort of like
face that load shedding umproblem.
And I think now that passion wasthere when I got to MIT,
mechanical engineering just madesense.
Um there wasn't any particularreason why I chose mechanical
engineering, kind of made sensein terms of like what I wanted
to do, and then that's that wasthe that was the path from
(08:12):
there.
SPEAKER_00 (08:13):
Wow, that's incredible.
So with you having that specificmajor and with you doing those
things at MIT, and especiallywith you just being from Haiti
and you mentioning Norway andthen now coming to the United
States, like how have you seenmaybe the education systems like
differ?
(08:33):
And through that, like how haveyou been able to adapt?
Because I can only imagine likehow difficult that may have
been, if even difficult for youat all.
But could you just explain moreabout your experiences with
those things?
SPEAKER_02 (08:47):
That is a very, very good question.
Um, and and uh every singlechapter of my life so far, I
guess of my educational journeyhas been like kind of stark
difference.
Um, as I mentioned initially,Haiti is a theory-driven
country.
We follow the French educationmodel where we memorize things
(09:08):
and we go split it on the examsheet.
Um so that was that was, I wouldsay, formative years where I had
to, I think I build up a lot ofyou know theor, like fundamental
principle theories in my head.
Um, but I things that I couldnever apply.
Like I would, I could recite theperiodic table for you without
(09:28):
knowing what are the differencesbetween the two, between two
elements, like how would theyreact if they were, you know.
Um, so it was a lot of theories,which I'm grateful for these
years because I I managed togather a ton of, you know,
practical knowledge, notpractical, I guess, fundamental
knowledge, which then kind ofallowed me to maybe flourish
more in the other spaces that Iwent.
(09:49):
And when I went to Norway now,Norway was a striking difference
first because I the number ofclasses you had to take was
extremely low.
Like I was taking six classes.
I discovered the idea of likechoosing your track, choosing
your classes in Norway.
This thing doesn't exist inHaiti.
In Haiti, you have 18 subjectsto watch your entire life.
(10:10):
You have to do all of them.
You have to do math, you have todo religion, you have to do
geography, history, everything.
But then I got to Norway,they're like, pick what you
like.
And I did, huh?
I'm like, I'm a science guy, soI'm gonna do math, I'll do
physics, um, and I'll dolanguages and econ.
And that was six, my sixclasses.
Um, so that education um wasdifferent from that perspective
where I now startedspecializing, maybe not
(10:33):
specializing from theperspective of choosing a field,
but taking the skills that Ialready had and starting to
deepen them.
Um, that was those years, thosetwo years in Norway.
And the education in Norway wasalso not just focused on
academics, it was a globaleducation.
We did the IB, the internationalbaccalaureate as our kind of
educational, like as ourday-to-day studies.
(10:54):
But then the UWC as a whole is ahub to create leaders that
understand the value ofdiversity and and understand how
we in general as people arestronger when we are together.
So we were living on a campuswith 200 students from like over
85 nations.
So we were learning from eachother beyond, outside of the
classroom throughextracurriculars, um doing
(11:16):
projects-based learningactivities.
Um, and those things, again,they helped me, I would say,
become the global citizen that Ithink I am today.
Um, because I know I feel veryconfident that I can engage and
flourish in any community inregard, regardless of the
country in which it is.
And those those years for surehave come from Norway.
(11:37):
When I then moved to MIT, well,MIT as we know it, it's to me
the best institution to studyscience in the entire world.
Um, it's it's it's like theeducation is just top-notch.
So when I MIT made me anengineer, MIT gave me the um
confidence in my ability tobuild anything, the confidence
(11:59):
in my ability to solve anything.
Um and that is just kind of fromthe rigor of you know of MIT,
you know, diving into lots offundamental theoretical things,
but also having a breadth of umpractical experiences.
At MIT, there are these thingscalled makerspaces, um, which
inspired Project Manus, becausethere is a Project Manus at MIT
(12:20):
where they build thosemakerspaces all around campus,
where you can just go and buildthings.
Makerspaces don't just allow youto build things, it empowers you
to think that you can buildanything.
Um, and I think those those werecrucial during my time at MIT,
getting that confidence in mycompetence, if you if you would
call it like that.
So these three have beendifferent.
I'm hoping that my time atOxford is gonna be a different
(12:40):
chapter, different kind of likefrom the other three as well.
SPEAKER_00 (12:43):
Yeah, so what are you looking forward to with
going to Oxford?
That was I'm glad you mentionedthat.
That's a good segue becausethrough you know your three
different education experiencesthat you've had thus far, what
are you looking forward to withthis next chapter at Oxford?
SPEAKER_02 (13:01):
That's a good question.
I think, you know, I I I haven'ttaken much time to think about
that.
Maybe I should.
Um but I would say at Oxford oneof the main things that I'm
looking forward to right now islike I've I've been very much
like a generalist over the pastyears.
Like I've done, I do a lot ofthings.
(13:21):
Um I study mechanicalengineering, but I I teach
myself things in energy, sothat's what my focus is.
I do robotics, I do all kinds ofthings.
Yeah, um, I do all kinds ofthings.
Um, but then I know that youknow my future is in the energy
systems.
I want to build energy systemsin the Caribbean region.
That's my goal.
Um, and I think Oxford is gonnaplay the most important role in
(13:44):
that, in helping me grow closerto that future.
Um, so at Oxford, I really wantto specialize in energy systems.
I don't want to do anythingwithout the intention of
becoming somebody who will bemore efficient at creating those
um systems.
Um, because I don't want to signup to random clubs and and you
know, I I want to really focus.
So I think Oxford is gonna bethe actual specialization years
(14:08):
where I'm I become an expert atthe field of energy systems.
Um, and then again, Oxford isalso at near London, which is
sort of like a you know culturalcorner of the world with people
coming from all over the place.
Um, I'm also looking forward tojust you know enhancing my
understanding of cultures andpeople um and also helping them
get you know a better sense ofwhat Haiti is through some of
(14:30):
the stories that I will that Iwill be counting them.
SPEAKER_00 (14:33):
I love that.
So I'm glad that you mentionedthe different culture aspects
because I want to ask with younavigating these different
spaces that you've been in andbeing proud of where you're from
and your heritage and you know,representing your family name
well.
For my listeners who may betrying to navigate their own
(14:54):
spaces and trying to figure outhow they can make their own
impact and have the confidenceto kind of just make the first
move.
What would be your advice orwhat has helped you to still
stay true to yourself even inthese different spaces and make
a name for yourself?
SPEAKER_02 (15:14):
Yeah, that's a good, that's a good question.
I I think I'm trying to thinkabout, you know, when I left
Haiti for the first time, youknow, when I was moving to
Norway, it was a big shift.
It was, you know, I'm leaving,I'm leaving my family while I'm
still young to go to a somecountry I'd never heard of,
never seen snow in my life, andI'm like, okay, I'm going to the
(15:34):
Nordic region.
Um so I guess at that moment Idon't necessarily know what I
was thinking about, but as I tryto reason through times and and
and I'm trying to think of whatcould I be thinking about, I
think one of those things wasfirst of all kind of telling
myself that there are reasons tolive for that are bigger bigger
(15:58):
than oneself.
So you're living, you're leavingyour country and you're gonna
live somewhere else.
Um and there are a lot of thingsthat you can do to make yourself
the greatest, you know, pursuethe best opportunities, doing
things, connecting with peoplethat are gonna advance your
career and whatnot.
But then ultimately a lot ofthese things are for you.
They are for yourself.
(16:18):
The things that are bigger thanyourself are things like your
family, your your culture, yourheritage.
You know, when you think of acountry like Haiti that has so
much negative narratives aroundit, um, I have a responsibility
if I can get to those spaces andbreak some of these narratives
and show that, you know, thereare there is excellence, there
is you know greatness that cancome out of Haiti.
(16:39):
It's a responsibility on me.
It's not just something that Ishould contemplate.
This is something that I need tobe doing.
Um so I think recognizing thatlike I was not only living for
myself, but also the people thatI represent was very sort of
like fueling for me when I gotto those spaces because then I
remember that like there arethings that I need to be doing
for myself, but there are alsoother things that I need to be
doing, such that people ofHaiti, my family, can be proud
(17:02):
and they can know that I'mbearing the flag as I should, as
I as I as I should.
Um the other thing, I guess,that's more like when you're
leaving the your your hometown.
But when you get there, I wouldsay it's very important to take
space.
You know, like it's uh thesespaces could be intimidating,
especially if you're traveling,you go on a scholarship, or
maybe you're just traveling, yougo against your community that's
(17:23):
unknown.
These things can create a lot ofanxiety.
Like if you're on a scholarship,you're around a bunch of other
kids who think they've been thething for their entire life.
And then you get there, you'relike, oh, maybe I've thought
that I've been the thing too,but like maybe not.
Um all of these things create alot of anxiety, or you move to a
new place and you're seeingeverything is so different from
things that you've beencomfortable with, things that
(17:44):
you've you've known as truth.
So it's hard to kind of it'seasy to kind of put yourself in
the your shell and be like,okay, yeah, I'm just gonna do my
thing here, like doing that, doI what I need to do.
But I think it's also importantto challenge some of these
thoughts to be like, huh, whatif I actually decided to not
share myself?
What what are the possibilitiesand what is the worst thing that
(18:06):
can happen?
The worst thing that can happenoftentimes not that bad.
Um so I think taking space inthose things, signing up for
those clubs, signing up forthese leadership roles that you
may have doubted yourself to beable to do before, um, you know,
is important because then itallows you to sort of like in
the same, you know, alley ofrepresenting your country, but
(18:27):
it's it allows you to gain theskills that in at some point in
your career will be extremelyuseful, um, that can sort of be
put at at some other to someother use as well.
SPEAKER_00 (18:36):
Yeah.
I think that's really goodadvice.
And, you know, it keeps youhumble, it keeps you grounded to
just always remember that thereis something bigger than you and
you have something that you'realways working towards, but just
keeping the bigger picture inmind.
And you mentioning, you know,representing your country well
(18:56):
and wearing the flag with pride,but I want to now talk about
your foundation, the HectorFoundation.
So I mentioned that you'veraised over$100,000 and you even
built Haiti's first open useengineering makerspace.
Was that through MIT where youwere able to do that, or you did
that before?
SPEAKER_02 (19:16):
Yeah, so what I the the yeah, so the Hector
Foundation itself is a is anonprofit that I co-founded in
2019.
As soon as I left Haiti, I in myfirst week in OE, actually.
Um I I texted my best friend andtell him, told him, hey man,
like I'm around, I'm seeing allthese kids, everybody wanna be a
leader, everybody wants to dothings.
(19:37):
I'm like, we kind of have to dosomething too.
And we we started it as aproject, we wanted to do a
summer program, and that summerprogram ended up being
successful.
It's become our flagship programnow, and we said, okay, we're
gonna turn this into anorganization.
And we've been working on thissince for the past six years.
And what the Ectora Foundationdoes today is sort of create
advanced educationalopportunities for young Haitians
(19:58):
in Haiti, regardless of theirsocial class, we try to create
free opportunities, um, whetherit is Flower Store Program or,
as you mentioned, themakerspace.
So that makerspace is our secondflagship project.
Um I started designing it in2022 while I was still at MIT.
And the inspiration came fromMIT because, as I said, MIT has
(20:19):
those makerspaces that allowedme to be that engineer that I
think I am today, to haveconfidence in my ability to
solve things just by being inthis space, building things, and
I'm like, wow, this is very,very empowering.
So I wanted to create somethingsimilar for Haitian students
that have been where they have auh like a national curriculum
that is so focused on theory.
People don't go in spaces andtry to make things.
(20:42):
Um so I started designing thespace in 2022.
Um, I raised funds throughoutMIT, to project competition.
I think we raised about 32,000um between 2022 and 2023 um to
build a space.
Um and then I I did the wholemock-up, the whole design of the
space, bought the tools, thenflew to Haiti and then built a
(21:02):
space uh in August of 2023, andwe inaugurated the space then.
So what the space is right nowis basically a hub for
engineering.
We have a bunch of tools and weoffer free robotics training
camps um for every weekend forstudents um across the capital.
And we've we've empowered quitea few students already.
We we have over 200 alumniwho've come to the space,
(21:23):
learned the tools, and kind ofdone different robotics programs
that we that we have.
Um so the space right now is isthat hub.
We are hoping that it's gonnacontinue to grow, it's gonna
continue to inspire morepractical opportunities in the
Haitian educational curriculum.
Um, and and hopefully we canhave those spaces all around the
country at some point in thefuture.
SPEAKER_00 (21:43):
That's amazing.
Like I think it truly isincredible the opportunities
that you're able to create forthose children.
And I want to know what has beenthe most rewarding part of the
Hector Foundation and all thehard work that your best friend
and you have put into it, what'sbeen the most important thing?
SPEAKER_02 (22:02):
Yeah, I think I think the most rewarding part
for me is recognizing thatthrough the Hector Foundation we
are ensuring that him and I weare no, we are not exceptions.
You know, I I I went to schoolin Haiti my entire life.
My family was very modestfamily.
(22:24):
We didn't have a lot, but as Isaid, through education, I got
scholarships.
Like I I went on and lived inover 13 countries, and not a
single one of these countrieshave paid a single buck.
I've always been onscholarships, people paying me
to be there as a result of someeducational program.
My friend also had a similarjourney.
We sat on the same bench inHaiti.
Uh, when I went to Norway, hegot the same scholarship he went
(22:45):
to Germany.
And then from Germany, he wentto Princeton University.
And after Princeton, he joinedthe Board of Trustees of
Princeton and became the firstHaitian national to win the
Knight Hennessy Scholarship atStanford.
So he is currently at Stanforddoing his thing.
Um and as much as we hate tosay, we are exception of the
systems.
(23:06):
Most people don't go throughthese spheres, hence uh hence
why we are the first doing XYZ.
We are the first of whatever.
Um it's cool to say you're thefirst, but then it's even cooler
to say that you will not be thefirst for long enough.
So I think the most rewardingthing for us is really making
sure that we are not exceptions.
With the Hector Foundation,we've created these programs as
(23:28):
a way to create pathways forother kids to benefit from the
opportunities that we oncebenefited.
We want more kids to uh getadmitted to UWC.
Um we want more kids to getadmitted to these prestigious
universities, we want more kidsto win roads night hennesty
scholarships.
And that's what we are workingtowards.
And I think when we see ourstudents get UWC scholarships
(23:48):
after they participated in oursummer program, um get admitted
to universities.
There's one girl who just got uhadmitted to UPEN, she's now
studying finance there, um, andshe's a product of our of our of
our foundation.
I think those are the mostrewarding thing because we are
making sure that like those, youknow, however lucky we were to
get those things, we're makingsure that other people can also
(24:09):
be lucky.
And I and I think that there isno there there's no greater
value than that.
SPEAKER_00 (24:14):
That is truly amazing.
That's what it's all about.
And I'm sure that that's whatyou envisioned, or if even if
you didn't envision, I'm surelike that's what you continue to
hope and wish for for all thestudents who go through your
program.
And I love how you said, youknow, even though y'all are the
first, like you don't want to bethe first for long.
(24:35):
And I think that that just goesalong with kind of the way I
envision things, with you know,as you're creating these
opportunities and you'reclimbing up the ladder, making
sure to reach back to bringothers up with you as well.
And like if you open a door,leave it open so that others can
follow you and walk throughthat.
So I just want to thank you somuch.
This has been such a greatinterview so far.
(24:57):
I've loved hearing about yourstory.
I can't wait to see what you doin Oxford.
You know, I'll be here tosupport you along the way.
And I'm sure that my listenerswill now also be a part of your
support system hearing you onand can't wait to see you do
amazing things.
And so as I come to the end ofthe episode, I have a signature
question that I ask, which iswhat's one piece of advice you
(25:19):
would give Gen Z to go out anddiversify themselves?
So, not just in career choices,but like in a mindset.
So, like networks andopportunities basically to make
their greatest impact on theworld.
SPEAKER_02 (25:34):
Yeah.
That's a good question.
I think, I think um the bigpiece of advice I would say, you
know, is for everybody torecognize that their
authenticity is their greatestweapon, it's their greatest
strength.
Um you want to remain true towho you are, um, and you need to
(25:56):
be confident that there arepeople who are interested in
knowing and engaging with whoyou are.
Um so be confident in yourheritage, be confident in the
stories that your family, youryou know, your life experiences
have given you, um, and tellthose stories.
Tell them not just through youknow, you know, talking to
(26:17):
people, but tell them throughyour actions, in the way that
you behave, in the way that youinteract with you know systems
and communities in which you go.
And all of these things, likeyou know, the type of clubs, the
type of initiative you start,they continue telling the
stories that make you you.
So be confident in your stories,be confident in your in your
heritage, on who you are, um,and and go out there, share it
(26:39):
with with with others throughactions and also through through
the verb.
SPEAKER_00 (26:44):
I love that.
Thank you again so much.
I think you dropped some greatgolden nuggets, pieces of
advice, and just through yourmindset and like us kind of
getting to look into your brainand the way that you think about
things, you know, it definitelyopened up my perspective and I
learned a lot.
And I hope the listeners learneda lot too.
(27:06):
And I'll be sure to have yourLinkedIn in the bio below so
that if anyone wants to connectwith you or ask follow-up
questions or learn more aboutyour foundation, they can reach
out to you.
Um, thank you again for theinterview.
Thank you, everyone, listening,and I'll catch you next time on
that.
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