Hello!
My name is Brenda de Souza Soares da Rosa. I was born and raised in Brazil and moved to the US in 2019. My hometown is called Porto Alegre-RS, and it is located in the Southern part of Brazil. People usually ask me how I ended up in Champaign and the answer is because living in the US has always been a dream of mine ever since I was around 8 years old. In 2017, the company my dad worked for in Brazil offered him a position at one of their plants in Danville-IL. After a couple of years visiting, I finally got to convince him to help me move here and finish school. I’m the oldest of four siblings. My sister Nicole, who is 18 years old, still lives in Brazil along with my mom and the rest of my family. My two younger brothers, Davi (7 years old) and Jonathan (3 years old), are results of my dad’s second marriage. Both of my brothers, dad and stepmom are currently living in Sheboygan-WI, and they are the only family I have in the US.
Even before moving to Champaign, I knew that I wanted to attend U of I. I had already started college in Brazil, but U of I was the type of school that I was only used to seeing in movies. For this reason, once I moved, studying at U of I immediately became my main goal. Although I have already accomplished it, now I feel that what keeps me motivated is my willingness to get where I want in my academic and professional lives. As the good indecisive person that I am, I have switched majors a few times before finally deciding what would be the most fitting career for me. In Brazil, I started college with a Speech and Hearing Sciences major. However, after moving here, I started taking classes that were required for Nursing School. In 2020, I got my first job and started working at an assisted living facility as a resident care aide, where I performed the same work as a CNA. As I was able to closely follow the duties and responsibilities of a nurse, I realized that I didn’t want to go to nursing school and decided to enroll in a program to become a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) while still finishing my studies at Parkland College. At the moment, I have an associate degree in General Studies, and I work as a CMA for a nonprofit organization. Hopefully, in a few years I will be graduating with a master’s in physician assistant sciences and starting my career as a PA, which is why I choose I-Health as my major.
In a first moment, coming from a different country limited my network. Everybody that I knew, and that could help me with academic and professional things such as letters of recommendation, was back home. Therefore, since 2019, I have been learning that I’m the only one responsible to make my own connections that will help me get to my goal. Participating in I-Leap is important for me because it will give me more opportunities to build a strong network while also meeting new people and getting inspired by their different life journeys. Sometimes, hearing other people’s stories and how they overcame their obstacles is the only boost I need to keep believing that regardless of the struggles, it is possible for me to achieve all the goals I have set for myself.
After doing some research, it was hard for me to pick only one personal value that I live by, so I made a top three. My first personal value is empathy. I was raised on the mindset that I must not do to others what I don’t want done to myself. This alone, made me always think twice and put myself in someone else’s shoes before taking any actions. My second personal value is determination, because now more than ever, I know what I want, and I will make sure to do everything in my power to get there and succeed. My third and last personal value is gratefulness. As I look back to some of the things I was able to accomplish in the past few years, I am grateful for all the support and all the people who have crossed my path and been very welcoming since I boarded on this journey of living and studying in the US.
Overall, I believe that life is all about choices, and with time I see that mine are taking me closer and closer to where I want to be. Unfortunately, I have the consequence of not being able to have my family with me during special occasions, but I know that they are always rooting for me and celebrating each one of my achievements. After all, making them proud is what keeps me motivated to give my best every day.
My name is Brenda de Souza Soares da Rosa. I was born and raised in Brazil and moved to the US in 2019. My hometown is called Porto Alegre-RS, and it is located in the Southern part of Brazil. People usually ask me how I ended up in Champaign and the answer is because living in the US has always been a dream of mine ever since I was around 8 years old. In 2017, the company my dad worked for in Brazil offered him a position at one of their plants in Danville-IL. After a couple of years visiting, I finally got to convince him to help me move here and finish school. I’m the oldest of four siblings. My sister Nicole, who is 18 years old, still lives in Brazil along with my mom and the rest of my family. My two younger brothers, Davi (7 years old) and Jonathan (3 years old), are results of my dad’s second marriage. Both of my brothers, dad and stepmom are currently living in Sheboygan-WI, and they are the only family I have in the US.
Even before moving to Champaign, I knew that I wanted to attend U of I. I had already started college in Brazil, but U of I was the type of school that I was only used to seeing in movies. For this reason, once I moved, studying at U of I immediately became my main goal. Although I have already accomplished it, now I feel that what keeps me motivated is my willingness to get where I want in my academic and professional lives. As the good indecisive person that I am, I have switched majors a few times before finally deciding what would be the most fitting career for me. In Brazil, I started college with a Speech and Hearing Sciences major. However, after moving here, I started taking classes that were required for Nursing School. In 2020, I got my first job and started working at an assisted living facility as a resident care aide, where I performed the same work as a CNA. As I was able to closely follow the duties and responsibilities of a nurse, I realized that I didn’t want to go to nursing school and decided to enroll in a program to become a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) while still finishing my studies at Parkland College. At the moment, I have an associate degree in General Studies, and I work as a CMA for a nonprofit organization. Hopefully, in a few years I will be graduating with a master’s in physician assistant sciences and starting my career as a PA, which is why I choose I-Health as my major.
In a first moment, coming from a different country limited my network. Everybody that I knew, and that could help me with academic and professional things such as letters of recommendation, was back home. Therefore, since 2019, I have been learning that I’m the only one responsible to make my own connections that will help me get to my goal. Participating in I-Leap is important for me because it will give me more opportunities to build a strong network while also meeting new people and getting inspired by their different life journeys. Sometimes, hearing other people’s stories and how they overcame their obstacles is the only boost I need to keep believing that regardless of the struggles, it is possible for me to achieve all the goals I have set for myself.
After doing some research, it was hard for me to pick only one personal value that I live by, so I made a top three. My first personal value is empathy. I was raised on the mindset that I must not do to others what I don’t want done to myself. This alone, made me always think twice and put myself in someone else’s shoes before taking any actions. My second personal value is determination, because now more than ever, I know what I want, and I will make sure to do everything in my power to get there and succeed. My third and last personal value is gratefulness. As I look back to some of the things I was able to accomplish in the past few years, I am grateful for all the support and all the people who have crossed my path and been very welcoming since I boarded on this journey of living and studying in the US.
Overall, I believe that life is all about choices, and with time I see that mine are taking me closer and closer to where I want to be. Unfortunately, I have the consequence of not being able to have my family with me during special occasions, but I know that they are always rooting for me and celebrating each one of my achievements. After all, making them proud is what keeps me motivated to give my best every day.