Activities coordinator hired for college in Africa

By Sadie Hughes

Alexi Trottier will travel to Mauritius, an island off the southeast coast of Africa, for the first time to be the activities coordinator of The Institute of American Higher Education, a college that will begin a trial year in Jan. 2016.

For now, Trottier said she is doing what she can to prepare by reacquainting herself with the French language and learning basic terms and grammar rules of Mauritian Creole. Both languages are spoken on Mauritius.

Trottier said the aim of the institute is to allow the people on Mauritius to become educated rather than traveling to another country for schooling.

Trottier will be responsible for coordinating any activities organized for the student body.

“When I think of Africa, I think of adventure,” said Alexi Trottier’s sister, Katelyn Trottier. “And adventure is Alexi's middle name.”

The institute’s pilot year is expected to have about 3,000 students.

“She is brilliant at connecting with, leading and uplifting youth,” Katelyn Trottier said. “She is also outrageously fun and dynamic, so acting as activities coordinator for students in college is right up her alley.”

Alexi Trottier said she is excited to build relationships with the people she meets and experience a culture that is new to her.

“She embraces people with her whole heart no matter where she is and no matter how long she's there,” Katelyn Trottier said. “Her stay in Mauritius will be no different.”

Alexi Trottier said she is also preparing for the trip by studying the culture of Mauritius.

“I’ve learned that the people there really like their holidays, and they really value education," Alexi Trottier said. "And it’s a really developed country compared to other African countries."

Alexi Trottier served an LDS mission in Singapore and Malaysia and said she worked with many people of Indian descent, so she believes this will help her understand the culture of Mauritius.

“The people there don’t consider themselves as African,” Alexi Trottier said. “Most of them are of Indian descent.”

Because Alexi Trottier hasn’t received specific details on what her duties will be while on Mauritius, she said she will wait to do preparation beyond studying the languages and the culture.

“She has shown great adaptability to virtually every kind of environment,” Katelyn Trottier said. “I'm confident that she'll fit right in and love it.”

More information is expected to be given to Alexi Trottier in the next few months, but definite planning won’t begin until later this year.

“Mauritius will become a part of her,” Katelyn Trottier said. “And that country will never be the same either.”