AMHERST, Mass. - Berthony Alexandre has been working as a seasonal storekeeper at the UMass Amherst dining hall since January.

He immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti last spring, with the goal of building a new life for him and his family. 

"It's been excellent. We've familiarized ourselves with the people here and it's been a really good experience," Alexendere said. 

Alexendre came to the U.S. with his wife and 3-year-old daughter because he feared for their safety while living in Haiti.

He's since been able to secure a visa and work permit. 

"It's the land of opportunity so we're going to seize this opportunity for a better life for ourselves," he said. "The schooling for our daughter to be educated so that she doesn't have to go through the miseries that we have gone through."

Alexendere and his family currently live at a shelter in Greenfield.

He said the path here was difficult.

"We walked a lot of miles. We were drenched in the rain. We traversed rivers that were really high and dangerous. We passed a lot of dead people along the way, corpses, and we've also passed through the hands of people who did us wrong," he said.  "But through all the difficulties and dangers that we came through we're not going to allow it to traumatize us."

Director of Bakery Operations Pamela Adams has helped dozens of immigrants in western Mass find employment and housing in recent years. 

Alexendre said Adams has played a large role in getting he and his family situated and plans to keep working to support his loved ones. 

"Because of Pamela's help, we've been able to get a job and we've been able to establish ourselves. We've been able to buy a car so that helps us to move around," he said. "With this job, we're able to help our family back home financially but also our family here. As for the future, what we're looking for in the future is to continue to establish ourselves and to be able to move forward and move up."