Orienting to Elon, far from home
Growing up in Haiti as the third of four brothers and the first to graduate high school, Ellison Adrien wasn't the subject of high expectations from neighbors — especially after his parents passed away in March 2008. But his expectations for himself were high. Adrien would skip classes his junior year of high school to work in the Dominican Republic in order pay rent. But he was still one of the best students in his classes and was hopeful an opportunity for higher education would appear.