He exemplifies the essence of triumph.
In an inspiring tale of resilience and ambition, a Wendy’s manager who sought refuge in the United States following a terrifying shooting at his home is now preparing to take up studies at Yale University, backed by a full scholarship.
Thalles Winner DeSouza extends heartfelt thanks to the proprietors of Wendy’s branches in Cape Cod, whose belief in his potential spurred them to support his academic journey, despite his intentions to leave the fast-food sector in pursuit of higher earnings.
“Four years back, during my tenure as a Wendy’s manager while completing high school, Mr. Usama El-Sehrawey alongside the late Mr. Ernest Smily granted me a scholarship to pursue studies at Cape Cod Community College,” DeSouza shared on Facebook on July 28.
DeSouza joined Wendy’s as a young teenager and swiftly ascended to the role of shift manager during his junior year of high school.
A year later, DeSouza wanted to change jobs and head into construction for better pay so he could start saving up for school.
DeSouza’s bosses, who owns all seven Wendy’s on Cape Cod and Plymouth, came up with a better idea.
“He told me that he would like to go and work in construction because there is more money in construction than Wendy’s,” El-Sehrawey told TODAY.com. “I said, ‘If you stay at Wendy’s, I will make sure you go to college.’”
“At the time, I had no idea how much that opportunity would change my life,” DeSouza said.
El-Sehrawey and Smily began setting aside extra money for every hour DeSouza worked at the restaurant, eventually collecting enough to pay for three years of tuition at Cape Cod Community College.
While he attended the local school, DeSouza started a religious club on campus, earned straight As and served as the student body president for two years.
DeSouza transferred to Bunker Hill Community College for a year before he applied to Yale University, which accepts roughly 2% of transfer students each year, according to the Yale Daily News.
DeSouza was accepted into Yale in May, celebrating with his family in a joyful moment captured on video.
Raised by a single mother of four, DeSouza grew up in the crime-ridden Vila Kennedy favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, until he was 13, when he came to the US not knowing any English.
“In 2016, after being almost killed by a shooting inside my own home while I was sleeping, my mother decided to leave everything behind and come to the United States,” DeSouza said.
The community, which was designated an autonomous neighborhood in 2017, is terrorized by the Comando Vermelho gang that controls the drug trade in several favelas including Vila Kennedy, Reuters reported.
A decade later, he was accepted into “one of the most prestigious universities in the world” with a full scholarship valued at over $194,500, or over 1 million Brazilian reais.
“I wanted to reward him for being situated against the difficult odds,” El-Sehrawey said. “Moving here to America, trying to learn the language and at the same time study. He’s done a lot of unbelievable stuff. A lot of young people have opportunities to do the same, and they would not take the opportunity.”
The incoming Bulldog credited his bosses for believing in him and giving him the chance to succeed while working at the fast-food chain.
“Thank you, Mr. Usama, the late Mr. Ernest Smily, Terry Smily, and the entire Smily family, for believing in me. Your generosity opened a door that changed my life, and I will always be grateful,” DeSouza said alongside a photo of himself with El-Sehrawey and Smily’s son, Terry, holding up Yale t-shirts in front of a Wendy’s sign.
DeSouza says he will be majoring in political science with a minor in human rights as he plans to be on the pre-law track to become a lawyer.
“Sometimes all it takes is one person who believes in you. I’m living proof of that,” he added.