He moved here from Haiti with an older brother and sister when he was only seven. Now he’s pursuing an accounting degree at Xavier University.

“My mother, she was already down here (in New Orleans in 1987). So after she settled and had everything planned out; she came and got us five years later in 1992.  We were actually living with my grandma (in Haiti). My mom came down here (to Haiti) in ’92,” he says quietly, in a smoky voice.

Joseph notes some of the difficulties of relocating to a more affluent society while not coming from affluence.

“It was everything.  It was just my mom taking care of four children.  She had my little sister… she actually came down here pregnant with my little sister. So it was her and four kids and it was rough on her and she was working in a hotel.  And I remember not having a lot and (not) looking as good as the other kids going to school.  So we had to settle for a lot of Goodwill clothing, shoes… But I was just blessed…  At a young age I knew this life was better than the horrible life we had in Haiti,” he said.

Wanto outlines the lacks most Americans can’t imagine.

“Starving days.  Just a lot. Not having electricity all the time.  Not having water.  Not having a running bathroom to take showers in. I could go on for days.  That life was just horrible compared to the life I have here and I’m just blessed for the opportunity,” he says.

He mentions that though his mother was supporting four children, she still sent money back to Haiti to take care of her mother and brothers, Wanto’s uncles.

“Until this day now, we still do,” he says of financial support for his family in Haiti.

In fact, this penchant for sacrifice so all the family flourishes runs through Joseph’s family and extends outward.  There was a time he faced having to work, while in high school, but his older brother decided not to attend college to give his younger siblings the chance to further their education.

“My brother, who’s actually five years older, decided … to help my mom. … I mean, my sister has a job, but I play basketball. So, I knew if I play basketball that’ll help pay my way through college.  If I work hard and become as good as I can be. So that’s what I strive for; and that’s what I did.  But I never forgot that academics are going to take me through life: …was going to help me better… my family,” he says.

Joseph lets basketball do double duty.

“Basketball is fun in that it lets me relieve a lot of stress. The problems that my family down here and in Haiti have … I relieve a lot of stress and play as hard as I can,” he says.

Because of his court skills, Wanto was recruited by several high schools.  But his skills off court as well led him to being chosen as team captain in his freshman year.

“It is very unusual,” he says. He then mentions that a middle-school coach paved the way for his selection.

“My middle-school coach, after Katrina, he ended up being an assistant coach (at O. Perry Walker) of the varsity team.  By that happening, he knew my leadership (skills) and …I could always play the game, and it was just that I just strived to be the best and I used to always work on my game and the coach saw that in me. And I ended up being team captain and the team lead scorer,” he says proudly.

Joseph not only started young, he kept his position through high school.

“Captain of the basketball team at O. Perry Walker didn’t just mean being one of the best players ... It meant taking care of your business on and off the court: that the coach could rely on me that I’m not going to be the one that have a fight at school, I’m not the one on the team to give teachers problems. I’m not going to be the one that ends up in jail for doing something in the street.  Because, I mean, I live in the ghetto.  I was going to be the one to represent the school in the right way.  And I was going to be the one that represents the team in the right way.”

As team captain at school, Joseph had a similar role.

“My role was very simple—to get the guys ready—kinda talk to them.  A lot of the people always respected me because my head was on the right way. When your teammates see you’re hard working and you’re pretty good in the game and know what you’re talking about, they would want to listen.  And I’m humble.  I’m not that cocky: One that’s going to be ‘I’m the best.’  ...  I never talked like that. And I always tried to help my teammates if I saw them with a weakness. I’d tell them that.  And I always got help from them.  They taught me a lot too,” he says.

Joseph’s other kind of “talk” was volunteer reading for elementary schoolers ages five to eight.

“I really had fun doing that, because the kids actually came to our games.  So when they saw me, they had a smile on their faces because they knew me.  The entire Algiers community goes to O. Perry Walker basketball games, because we did so well from my sophomore to my senior year,” he says.

Wanto’s National Honor Society and Student Council  participation involved Joseph in giving to the homeless during the holidays and monthly visits to senior homes.

“We even gave to the homeless people who were living under the bridge. At least once a month we’d go (to the senior homes) there and talk to them and just be there. Miss Stokes (the school liaison) was telling us that at that age they just need somebody to be there: talking to them with laughter and a smile.  That’s all that we did,” he said of his contribution.

In addition Joseph helped with Christmas presents for the homeless shelter.

“Some of us mostly bought stuff:  I mean we bought snacks—anything: Debbie snacks, soft drinks,” he says.

Wanto also participated in a summer youth camp O. Perry Walker for children 5 to 15 the summer before his junior year.

“The goal was to get them out the street. It was the summertime. With them together from 8 to 3 or 4 o’clock, at least their parents know from the time they’re at work to the time they get off … their child would be OK.  Not a lot of parents in the ghetto have money to bring them to baby sitters or people to watch over them, which is what we did, for the whole summer,” he says.

Joseph elucidates his definition of the word “ghetto.”

“I mean, it’s not the movie ghetto, but it is the ghetto.  Growing up in the Cut-off community in the back of Algiers, all you see is crackheads running down the street all day.  People not having a lot.  A lot of kids my age stop going to school to sell drugs. …  My options were like this. Do I want the quick fast money or am I going to go to school? You got a choice:  to do right or do wrong. It’s right in your face,” he says.

Wanto says his coach inspired him to want to get out and help others.

“The most things he talked to us about was getting out and giving back to the community.  … That’s his specialty, sending kids to (college).  From my freshman year (in high school) and all the way up, it was stuck in my head that I want to get out.  I could do the great things that coach was doing or I could do the bad things that some of my friends were doing, but they’re in jail. … I’d rather choose the life that was the best thing for you and your family,” he says.

His choices have meant since he was a freshman Joseph has collected academic and sports plaques beaucoup in equal measure.  And balance appears to be the measure of this young striver whose reach has yet to exceed his grasp.

 Nominations should be sent to Dr. Andre Perry, University of New Orleans, 348 Bicentennial Education Center, Lakefront Campus, 2000 Lake­shore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70148. Phone 504/280-6443; fax 504/280-6453; email: aperry@uno.edu or contact his graduate assistant, Ann Plicque, 280-6449, amplicqu@uno.edu. Donations to the scholarship fund are welcome.

This article was originally published in the February 8, 2010 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper