by Bridget Dunn, Communications and Community Outreach Coordinator
Love Mouity has degrees from several colleges: SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Onondaga Community College and a few universities in Paris. The degrees from Paris are good ones, but didn’t translate well in the American job market. So, when he arrived in Syracuse as a refugee from the Republic of the Congo 11 years ago, he went back to school. His Bachelor’s from Maxwell is in International Relations with a specialization in International Security and Diplomacy. He shrugs off the suggestion that this is a lot of years of schooling to go through.
“I like to be living proof to my peers, the newcomers,” Love says, speaking of refugees who are currently resettling through our Refugee Services. “I like to be able to show that with will and confidence, you can make it.”
Love cares deeply about the success and well-being of today’s refugees. In addition to leading by example, he works for our Refugee Services to assist new arrivals as a Health Care Assistant Coordinator. In this position, he helps recently arrived refugees attend doctor’s appointments and serves as an advocate and translator. (He speaks, in varying degrees, 7 languages.) He’s been in the position for a year.
“It is a way to give back to the organization,” he says. “I had always hoped to be able to do that.”
Love came to Syracuse with two of his brothers. One is now a financial advisor and the other is an engineer. Occasionally, he says, it occurs to him that he could leave Central New York, go to New York City or Washington, D.C. and maybe seek new opportunities. Whenever these thoughts occur, though, his ultimate conclusion is the same.
“I am a Syracusan,” says Love. “I love this city.”
Love’s dedication and his unique skills and life experience mean he is especially well-suited to helping others. In that way, he is like any member of our staff. Not all are so aptly named, of course, with the notable exception of CYO staff members Wisdom and Hope. Other staff members joke tongue-in-cheek that the days where the CYO has Wisdom but no Hope or Love are rather bleak, but thankfully, those days are few and far between.
Every day in all of our programs, we rely on a unique team to live out our dedication to serving the most vulnerable people in our community. It is an honor to count dedicated, compassionate people like Love among our members.