Jeanette Cajide

Country of Origin:
Cuba
My family came to the US in the year:
late 1960s
The first person in my family to move to the US was:
Entire immediate paternal & maternal family came at same time.
My family is grateful for the American Dream because:
we have freedom!

My late grandfather, Sergio Tandron had a PhD, a promising career and fulfilling life in Cuba when Fidel Castro took power. His assets were confiscated by the Cuban government so he uprooted the entire family and came to the US with no money. He immediately went to work as a school janitor the following day after his arrival in the US. In spite of his high education level in Cuba, he had to start his life all over again in his early 60s, an age when most people are ready to retire. Sergio went to college at night to attain two Master's degrees and eventually became a Professor at a college in New Jersey. The remarkable part of this story is that he did not know English very well. He would translate his books into Spanish, write his thesis in Spanish and then translated it back to English. This process took a very long time and he did not sleep very much during those years.

My late grandfather is the embodiment of hard work, self-sacrifice, humility and dignity. I now make it a point to get to know the janitors in my workplace. Many who are immigrants, I share my grandfather's testimony in hopes that they too will seek out their "American Dream."

In May 2010, I will be graduating with a second Master's degree. Before my grandparents passed away, in one of our last conversations my grandmother asked me, "So is there anyone that you are in love with? When are you going to get married?" My grandfather shushed her from the other house phone and said, "Leave her alone and let her concentrate on her work and studies. She is going to be someone important someday." I hardly think of myself as important but when I do get acknowledgments for my success, I think to myself, "It is because I stood on the shoulders of a giant — Sergio Tandron."

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