A Wendy’s worker who survived a shooting in Brazil is heading to Yale University after his bosses helped him pay for college.
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Thalles Winner DeSouza, 23, had started working at a Wendy’s restaurant in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while he was still in high school. As per his Facebook post, his plans at the time were focused on earning money, and he had considered leaving Wendy’s for construction work.
It was then when his bosses, Usama El-Sehrawey and the late Ernest Smily, encouraged him to stay and continue his education. They eventually helped fund his studies at Cape Cod Community College, an opportunity DeSouza says changed the direction of his life.
Four years after receiving that support, DeSouza has been accepted into Yale University. He shared his journey in an online post on July 28, thanking the people who had supported him and saying their generosity had opened a door that changed his life.
From Brazil to the US
DeSouza’s journey to the US began after a shooting in Brazil. In 2016, when he was a teenager, he survived a shooting inside his home while he was sleeping.
“In 2016, after nearly being killed by a shooting inside my own home while I was sleeping, my mother decided to drop everything and come to the United States,” he wrote in the caption of an Instagram video showing the moment he received his Yale acceptance.
DeSouza was raised by a single mother of four in Vila Kennedy, a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He came to the US at the age of 13 and did not know any English at the time.
After moving to the US, DeSouza continued his education while also working. His job at Wendy’s became an important part of that journey.
He joined the fast-food chain as a teenager and was promoted to shift manager while still in high school. But after some time, he wanted to leave the restaurant and find work in construction because he believed it would offer better pay and help him save money for college. That was when his bosses stepped in with another option.
