“After 15 Years, I Finally Became A U.S. Citizen”- Brazilian Man Celebrates

A young Brazilian Man named Nelson Shuchmacher Endebo has gone down memory lane as he just became a
U.S. Citizen.

Read his lengthy post as shared on LinkedIn:

Today is one of the happiest days of my life.

After 15 years, I finally became a U.S. Citizen!

On November 29th, 2007, I landed in Atlanta en route to Portland, OR, on a K1 Visa. I had a high school diploma and a few hundred dollars with me. I had left behind everything I had back in Brazil, and came to this country to pursue a new life. I took all the chances, dove right into the unknown. I was 21 years old.

In my first 8 months in the US, I could not legally work. In that period, I kept a routine: as my partner at the time went to work, I’d ride the train with her to the public library in downtown Portland and study; slowly I started advertising Portuguese lessons for cash.

In 2008, the economy sank and she got laid off from her job. I became the sole provider; around that time, I got my work permit and took my first official job in America at a tire retread plant, working the 4am-12:30pm shift.

Together with the two other immigrants there, Tran, Vietnamese, and Manuel, Honduran, I was the top performer at that place. In my years there, I heard a lot of nonsense (what is now called “micro-aggressions”), but I also learned to stand up for myself in the face of adversity.

In 2010 I started attending Portland State University full-time, while keeping my work shift. I would study in the break room, shower at the plant and hop on a bus to spend the entire afternoon and early evening on campus. I thrived in academia, but those were also the most difficult years of my life.

Financially, it was incredibly tough. I remember those months when we’d end with 75 bucks left in the bank until the next paycheck. Going to the store with the calculator so we’d stay within the tight budget.

At PSU I had a brilliant teacher, Prof. Steven Fuller, who saw the fire in me. He became my mentor and the single most important influence I had in those years. He helped me visualize a better future.

I got accepted into my PhD program at Stanford in early 2017. Between my graduation in 2013 and that moment, I worked at a supermarket, at a donut shop; I taught private lessons, worked as a translator and an on-call interpreter in hospitals and legal courts. And a lot more that I will keep off this post.

I am 36 years old now, and I will finish my PhD next year. My grandparents were immigrants – wartime refugees, in fact – who never finished high school.

And I will never again have to worry about having my green card renewal rejected and losing everything I’ve worked for like a dog.

Some people look at my LinkedIn profile and think I am some hoity-toity Stanford boy.

I never had anything handed to me. Stanford boy my a**.

I am, however, a citizen of the United States of America. All I ever wanted was an opportunity to seek for myself, to stand on my own feet. The United States gave me that. I love this country more than I can tell.

A shoutout to my fellow immigrants living the hustle. Let’s connect, let me know if I can help you in any way.

Source:Nelson Shuchmacher Endebo|LinkedIn

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com