RCMP Constable Rodzor Jean-Baptiste meets Governor-General Michaëlle Jean and her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond.
Rodzor Jean-Baptiste marched into BC Place holding a small corner of the Canadian flag, a flag that has played such a big part in his journey and has changed his life.
At 38 years of age, he is a rookie RCMP officer posted in Chilliwack, B.C. But just seven years ago, he was an engineer in his hometown of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, until the political and social situation forced his move to Montreal.
Ten months ago, he had a poor grasp of English but a year ago March he graduated as an RCMP officer.
And one month - to the day - before he marched into the stadium as part of the RCMP ceremonial guard carrying the Canadian flag for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games, much of his home country was destroyed by a massive earthquake.
He lost his older brother, an aunt and a cousin in the quake.
Making his entry into the stadium so much more emotional that evening was that among the 60,000 people in BC Place was Governor-General Michaëlle Jean, a fellow Haitian. She is someone Constable Jean-Baptiste has always wanted to meet. He said, "She was my motivation."
As he marched with the flag, he thought, too, of how he was in Canada as a Mountie, carrying the Canadian flag. He said he wanted to cry.
And unbeknownst to him, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass was working to make sure that somehow this remarkable rookie constable would be able to meet the Governor-General.
Constable Jean-Baptiste arrived in Canada in 2003. He couldn't work as an engineer, a typical experience for new immigrants not having the right credentials. He went back to university for accounting but didn't feel he fit in. Policing interested him, however, and he began to read about the RCMP.
In a recent interview, he said it struck him that the RCMP was an exact fit with his style, personality and values.
Becoming an officer required patience, however. First, he needed to become a Canadian citizen - that took several years. And then he had to apply to the force. Finally successful, he graduated last March and he and his wife, Myriam, and their two daughters, Patty-Isabelle, 8, and five-year-old Rodmya (a combination of her parents' names) moved to Chilliwack and started their new lives.
Two days before the earthquake, his wife left for a visit to Haiti.
She had planned to take their children. At the last minute, however, they decided against it; Constable Jean-Baptiste said he would look after the girls so that she could enjoy some time alone with her mother.
And for three agonizing days after the earthquake, he had no idea if his wife was dead or alive. With communications systems down, there was no way to make contact or get information.
Finally, her call came through; she was safe.
Given all of what he had been through, Constable Jean-Baptiste was asked by his superiors if he still wanted to work at the Games.
There was no hesitation. Of course, he wanted to work. He had a job to do.
Constable Jean-Baptiste is one of just 64 officers selected for the Ceremony Command Team, who are the face of the force on the Olympic stage and at all the venues. They were chosen because they represent the best of the force.
Shortly before the opening of the Games, he found out that he had also been chosen as one of eight officers to carry the flag into the stadium. He is also to play a big role in the closing ceremonies.
And so it was that last Wednesday Constable Jean-Baptiste found himself on the tarmac of the Vancouver airport waiting for the Governor-General.
His superiors had surprised him with the news that he was to meet Ms. Jean.
"Oh my God," he said, thinking of the protocol involved in meeting her. What to do? When to salute?
His ranking officer, Corporal Eric Sheppard simply told him to be himself. He says he couldn't have received better advice.
"She just opened her mouth to say something; I was like with my friend," he said. "I knew that she was awesome but she was so kind that I wasn't nervous."
They spoke a little bit in Creole and spent nearly half an hour talking. She told him that she loved his determination. He told her that he knew her life had not been easy, either.
"And she told me that when you have a goal never, never give up," he said.