American Dream by Ted

it took 15 months hundreds of interviews

and innumerable tears to find a job

after I graduated from Clemson you know

why it was not because I was not

qualified or that I did not have the
00:35
right skills it was not even because I

had a very very thick Indian accent when

I came to America it was only because I

was not a citizen of the United States

of America I came to the United States

to pursue my master's degree in

environmental engineering in 2010 but

what really attracted me to this country

was the idea of the American Dream that

glamorous dream of having a six-figure

salary a luxurious car a big house and a

whole lot more I vividly remember

receiving an admin letter from the

Clemson's graduate program but even

before I could begin celebrating my

achievement with my family and my

friends I hustled around to get my visa
application process started because


without a student visa

I would not be even allowed inside the

country so the pursuit of my American

dream started with a student visa and a

loan of $30,000 a small price to pay I

thought to achieve the American dream so

with the student visa

I came to Clemson I did well in my

classes

I even work for free when my adviser did

not have the funds to pay me my masters

theses gained (1)__________________________ recognition

but after graduation I had several

interviews and I thought I did well in

them but there was one question that

always failed me are you a citizen of

the United States and as soon as I

revealed my citizenship status

I sensed rejection I was (2)____________ the job

you see after completing my studies on
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my student visa I now needed an
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employment visa to be (3)________ to work in
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the US and (4)________ visa needed to be
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sponsored by the company that would hire
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me and after the economic crisis many
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companies had adopted a no work visa
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policy but I wasn't going to give up
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this easily after all the u.s.
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immigration system was designed to
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attract talented and hardworking
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individuals finally after a year of
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interviews cold calls and unsolicited
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job applications a company (5)______________ a job
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to me they even agreed to sponsor my
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visa I accepted the offer without
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batting an eyelid there was just one
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problem though this job was in a
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different City when I mentioned this to
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my (6)______________ he screamed freedom
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now don't be so excited this just means
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that you'd be doing your own dishes we
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were newlyweds at the time and living
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away from each other was not going to be
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easy but we both agreed this was
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important to me and my American dream
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but my American Dream was shattered in
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the first week at my new job despite
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working long hours I was yelled at for
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leaving work early I was marked for
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being a woman in the man's world I was
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often reminded why I was given this job
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on one occasion I worked until midnight
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to meet a project deadline the following
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morning at a team (7)______________ my boss threw
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the project file
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pooja if you worked on this piece of
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shoot until midnight then shame on you
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for being an engineer I froze in my
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chair it was only when things look
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blurry I realized I had tears in my eyes
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I ran to the ladies room and cried my
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eyes out but after a few minutes I
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washed my face and walked right back
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into the room this was one of the many
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occasions when I just wanted to quit and
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go back after working in the company for
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two years my boss called me into his
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office
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pooja you're fired
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you would think in that moment my
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reaction would be of shock pain or anger
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instead I walked out of his office took
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my belongings and left as I was driving
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home I asked myself what had I gained by
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chasing this American dream a mounting
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loan a life away from my family and my
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husband a job that I did not even like
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in the weeks that followed I felt so
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rejected by this country and the dream
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it had promised that I decided it was
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just not worth chasing this American
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dream I questioned my decision of moving
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from India to the United States growing
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up in India it was common to pursue a
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degree in engineering or medicine
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because it was considered prestigious it
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was a safe choice and everyone was doing
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it that was the Indian dream many of us
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liked what we did some very few had the
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courage to abandon their degrees and
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follow their dreams but most of us were
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left confused and unsure about our
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future but America for me was going to
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be a different place this was the land
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of opportunities (8)__________________________ and
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taking risks and yet I was measuring the
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success of my American dream on in terms
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of the wealth I was collecting and not
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my personal goals and choices I realized
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the American Dream is not a package deal
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of having a job a car and a house it is
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about making intentional choices for
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yourself and taking ownership of those
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choices
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being close to my family waiting for the
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right job opportunity and working at a
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company that respected me was some of
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the choices I made since losing my job
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and the results just followed naturally
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three years since I stand before you
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sharing my journey today I'm leading
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multiple projects at my new job I even
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got a transfer to the company's world
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headquarters in California with a new
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visa and I'm running the house
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single-handedly (9)__________ my husband
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completes his graduate degree today I'm
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living my (10)________________ dream of my choices
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so my fellow dreamers I encourage you
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all to share the pursuit of these
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package dreams and begin to live your
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dream of your choices because your dream
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is the American dream
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thank you
09:14
[Applause]
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you

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