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Describing himself as a family man, Marc-Leonce Volcy has helped carry and create his family’s legacy across continents and nations, establishing a name for himself — and space for many communities — along the way. And while prolific in several fields, including music, basketball and education, his next move might still be his most multicultural yet.

“Finding the right match in terms of my experience was difficult. I’ve worked with underrepresented populations. I’ve been creating programs and helping youth in these underserved types of environments for a while, and I wanted to do this at a higher level,” said Volcy, now the assistant director of the Multicultural Resource Center. “I couldn’t even believe when I saw the job description how much I felt like it matched what I did and what I was looking for in the future!”

Culturally Haitian and originally from Montreal, Volcy earned his Bachelor of Arts in 2006 from Northern Michigan University in media production and new technology, where he had a four-year basketball scholarship with their NCAA Division II team. After graduating, he returned home to Canada to start his career as a video game sound designer and to continue his own singing, songwriting and music production.

This career is its own reminder of his family legacy: his father was a famous singer in Haiti in the 1960s-70s, and it was through his influence that Volcy learned piano and music production. Though his father (and brothers) eventually transitioned to education as well, music has always been a family passion — Volcy even helped produce his father’s comeback record after a long hiatus, at just 15 years old.

Since 2001, Volcy has recorded his own music in addition to producing other artists. His music fuses soulful melodies, Caribbean rhythms and deeply personal lyrics; one of his more recent pieces blends French and Haitian Creole.

“It all started with a deal I made with my parents: I’d do music for three years, with their support, and afterward, I would go back to school and get my degree,” he said. “Record labels showed up, my music videos ended up on TV — I even toured in Europe! But I respected my deal, and I went back to school, and that was when I was recruited for the basketball team by the coach of Northern Michigan.”

A new path

In 2013, he founded Believe in the Youth Academy (BYA), a program that uses workshops and hands-on experiences to encourage students to write, record and produce their own music videos. The initiative was first launched in Cree Indigenous communities across Canada, offering youth a creative outlet rooted in cultural expression and storytelling.

The following year, his wife began her medical education in Saba, in the Dutch Caribbean, where they relocated with their three children. Once there, Volcy continued BYA on the island, adapting the program to engage local students and strengthen connections between creativity and classroom learning.

Initially planned as a two-year commitment, the move to Saba eventually became a five-year journey of growth and discovery for the Volcy family. During that time, he earned his master’s degree in business administration from Laurentian University in Ontario, and they then moved to Brooklyn for his wife’s residency.

There, he became a middle-school music teacher and education director — but he always knew he wanted to end up in higher education. Eventually, they began to look for a long-term home: one with good schools for their kids, a close-knit community, and a hospital and a college for their careers. After an extensive search, they settled in Ithaca, and Volcy heard about the MRC.

“In everything that I do, one thing that I really appreciate is human connection. Here at ������ý specifically, it’s the multicultural aspect that really interested me,” Volcy added. “Having diversity and being cross-cultural and meeting and putting together different people while helping college-level students is a dream.”

Volcy aspires to continue advancing in higher education leadership. To do so, he is once again continuing his own schooling: He’ll complete a doctorate in education from SUNY Brockport in 2027-28. In the long term, he’d even like to consider moving into University administration.

As he settles into the role, however, Volcy is working to explore these human connections and bring his passions to work, both through face-to-face interactions with students and through the systems that make the program possible. By understanding both, he believes he will have a more holistic understanding of how to improve the program.

“You can’t make changes from outside; the changes must come from within. Even from the business level, you can only make change in your small corner of the world,” he said. “I feel a need to be here, to help the students and guide them, to have conversations and make a direct impact.”