Notre Dame and a trip during college set this grad up for a life of service.
Notre Dame alum Marisa Sochacki (’06), fourth from left, is with friends in Haiti.
“One thing I’ve learned as I’ve traveled the world is that who I am today is a result of my past experiences,” said Sochacki, who earned a doctorate in pharmacy at the University of Toledo in 2012. “My values and passions for helping others are continually developing, but those seeds were first planted during my high school years at Notre Dame.”
She said though it’s sometimes hard to appreciate initially, community service is something that cannot be ignored.
“We Notre Damers have an obligation to ensure that others get many of the opportunities that we had — or better! Our alma mater is like our family. NDP supported us, so like good, Christian people, we must do the same, in whatever way we can.”
Since high school, Sochacki’s “family” has expanded in both scope and geography.
After graduating from NDP in 2006, Sochacki attended the University of Toledo to study in its pharmacy program, which consisted of two ‘pre-professional’ years followed by a very competitive application process into the ‘professional division.’ The last four years of pharmacy school, according to Sochacki, consisted of vigorous, year-round academic and onsite practice modules.
During college, she also was involved with intramurals, church groups, she worked as an intern, and also held leadership positions within a number of pharmacy organizations. She began traveling to Haiti for service work in 2008, and visited at least twice per year during college. It is during college, specifically in 2010, that she began to work very closely with a Haitian orphanage, Foyer des Enfants de la Providence, in the city of Les Cayes. By the way, Sochacki also managed at the same time to graduate with a doctor of pharmacy degree (Pharm.D) in 2012 as one of four valedictorians, the credit for which she gives partly to Notre Dame.
Sochacki said that her values and passions for helping others are continually evolving, but those seeds were first planted during her time at Notre Dame.
She said that during her time at Notre Dame, she also was involved in quite a few extracurricular activities, such as the National Honor Society, soccer, cross country and community service.
“These activities fostered development for me of crucial life skills,” she said. “Things like time management, well-roundedness, leadership and community service, especially the community service.”
Moving to Haiti
After graduation from college, Sochacki completed two optional, post-graduate residencies in order to polish her pharmacy practice skills, including patient-care skills.
Her first residency, in 2012 and 2013, was at the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which was followed by a residency at the University of Pittsburgh that had a global health and underserved focus. She also kept up her travels to Haiti and added trips to Malawi and Honduras, which pretty much confirmed her desire to pursue a career in missions/global health/humanitarian aid.
“After residency, I applied to work and volunteer with Doctors Without Borders and was offered a mission in South Sudan,” she said. “I spent eight months in a rather remote area of the country managing the pharmacy activities. After this mission, they offered me the pharmacy coordinator position in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. I spent an additional seven months in Juba, overseeing the pharmacy activities for all projects in the country as well as serving as an advisor to the Ministry of Health. My contract in South Sudan ended in November 2015, and it was around that time that I realized how much I missed Haiti.”
The Haitian orphanage she worked at in 2010, Foyer des Enfants de la Providence, had opened a new school in 2015 and was in need of a supervisor/tutor. It was a perfect excuse for her to move to Haiti on a more permanent status. So off to Haiti again she went in December of 2015 to live and volunteer at the orphanage.
Sochacki earned a doctor of pharmacy degree in 2012 from the University of Toledo as one of the school’s four valedictorians. She now volunteers and works as a pharmacist in Haiti.
The desire to love
Obviously well-traveled for someone so young, and it’s obvious Sochacki isn’t traveling so much just to see the world. So what possesses someone with such a potentially prosperous life in the United States to leave it all behind?
“The overriding driving factor behind all of my career decisions has been an intense desire to help others,” she said. “This desire began at an early age and was fostered during my time at NDP. I’ve always wanted to live in a developing country and be part of a community there. However, the more time I spend in Haiti, the more I realize my Haitian family is teaching me and helping me more than I could ever imagine. I’ve also begun to realize that the most important skill of all is the simple desire to love. This involves a desire to listen, a desire to see, and a desire to understand.
“By listening to others in need, we give them a voice and validate them as part of God’s creation. And by doing this, we can help make miracles happen!”
More information on the orphanage in Haiti where Sochacki lives and works:
Foyer des Enfants de la Providence was founded 21 years ago by two Haitian women, Michaelle and Gerta, with the principles of love, security, nutrition, education, and hope for a future. They are currently responsible for 27 children, aged 3-27. The orphanage is in Les Cayes, Haiti. There is also a kindergarten for the neighborhood that employs five Haitian professors. The orphanage also recently opened a new school, Providence Academy, with the hope of allowing the children more opportunities after high school graduation. The orphanage website is www.FEProvidence.com.
Sochacki also wanted to give more information on some of the pressing needs of the facility, especially after the country’s recent experience with Hurricane Matthew:
Directly related to hurricane damage (as of October 2016):
• New mattresses: much of the bottom floor flooded and destroyed several of the children’s mattrresses, so these will need to be replaced (cost unknown).
• Solar panels: the city power system is down (as of press time). There is a need to purchase three solar panels and batteries ($750-1000); alternatively the cost of gas to run the generator (not preferred).
• Pantry: the pantry was destroyed and all food stores were lost; there is a need to replace the food stores and also repair the room (unknown cost).
• Wall in front of the house: part of the wall is down and this needs to be repaired for security (cost unknown).
• Labor for all projects (cost unknown).
• Food and water: there is still food for purchase in the market; if the orphanage can purchase food, they can reduce its reliance on NGO handouts.
Additional priorities: although the immediate priorities are the relief efforts, there are many priorities that cannot be overlooked because in the long run, they can be more detrimental if not addressed soon. According to Sochacki, they include:
• Kindergarten for the community: the orphanage runs a kindergarten downstairs for neighborhood children regardless of the ability to pay. They ALWAYS struggle to pay the professors and this year it is going to be extremely difficult ($500/month).
• New property: the plan is to move to the new property by summer 2017; significant progress has been made, but they still need a kitchen and pantry ($10,000); this move is critical as there is limited space at the current house because of the school and the move also will allow them to be more self-sufficient with agriculture/livestock; additionally, they will need a power source (solar or generator + inverter), which will be quite costly.
Sochacki noted that there is one link where people can donate. It’s administered by a church in Ohio that has pledged to send 100% of all funds directly to the orphanage and to give it full autonomy and discretion of use. http://www.fccmassillon.com/haiti-relief
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.