My grandfather, started the immigration of our family from the Dominican Republic (DR). After divorcing my grandmother, he moved to Puerto Rico. Here he met a couple that took him into their home as one of their own. They later helped him get a visa to travel to the USA. He settled in the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the late 1970s. With little educational background, he was limited to the type of employment he would get. Being recruited by one of his friends, his first employment was at the bodega in his community. He later took up a second job as a gas station attendant. He worked 2 jobs to support his children in the DR as well as his new wife & child. He had apply to the housing projects & he soon got an apartment within the same community. While working at the gas station he met a lot of people with different job titles. One day he was offered a job as a sanitation worker. This he says is when he thought the vision of the American Dream came true. Living in a good space in the same community he first moved into & having a city job that would allow him to care for him family here in NYC & the one he left back home in the DR. He work overtime every time it was available, in order to help his children get their visa & travel to the USA for a better opportunity. Through his journey & experiences, my grandfather has to me that the opportunity exists to excel yourself & so one must work hard towards their goal, dedication is key & family support is an important element that will help you move forward to accomplish your goals.

– Gladys T

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant