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 international 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 denied the job
you see after completing my studies on
02:54
my student visa I now needed an
02:57
employment visa to be able to work in
03:00
the US and this visa needed to be
03:03
sponsored by the company that would hire
03:05
me and after the economic crisis many
03:10
companies had adopted a no work visa
03:13
policy but I wasn't going to give up
03:17
this easily after all the u.s.
03:20
immigration system was designed to
03:22
attract talented and hardworking
03:24
individuals finally after a year of
03:29
interviews cold calls and unsolicited
03:32
job applications a company offered a job
03:36
to me they even agreed to sponsor my
03:39
visa I accepted the offer without
03:44
batting an eyelid there was just one
03:48
problem though this job was in a
03:51
different City when I mentioned this to
03:55
my husband he screamed freedom
04:01
now don't be so excited this just means
04:05
that you'd be doing your own dishes we
04:10
were newlyweds at the time and living
04:12
away from each other was not going to be
04:14
easy but we both agreed this was
04:18
important to me and my American dream
04:22
but my American Dream was shattered in
04:27
the first week at my new job despite
04:30
working long hours I was yelled at for
04:33
leaving work early I was marked for
04:36
being a woman in the man's world I was
04:39
often reminded why I was given this job
04:43
on one occasion I worked until midnight
04:47
to meet a project deadline the following
04:51
morning at a team meeting my boss threw
04:55
the project file
04:56
pooja if you worked on this piece of
05:00
shoot until midnight then shame on you
05:02
for being an engineer I froze in my
05:07
chair it was only when things look
05:11
blurry I realized I had tears in my eyes
05:13
I ran to the ladies room and cried my
05:18
eyes out but after a few minutes I
05:23
washed my face and walked right back
05:27
into the room this was one of the many
05:31
occasions when I just wanted to quit and
05:34
go back after working in the company for
05:39
two years my boss called me into his
05:42
office
05:43
pooja you're fired
05:49
you would think in that moment my
05:51
reaction would be of shock pain or anger
05:57
instead I walked out of his office took
06:02
my belongings and left as I was driving
06:09
home I asked myself what had I gained by
06:14
chasing this American dream a mounting
06:17
loan a life away from my family and my
06:21
husband a job that I did not even like
06:27
in the weeks that followed I felt so
06:31
rejected by this country and the dream
06:33
it had promised that I decided it was
06:36
just not worth chasing this American
06:38
dream I questioned my decision of moving
06:42
from India to the United States growing
06:46
up in India it was common to pursue a
06:49
degree in engineering or medicine
06:51
because it was considered prestigious it
06:54
was a safe choice and everyone was doing
06:57
it that was the Indian dream many of us
07:04
liked what we did some very few had the
07:09
courage to abandon their degrees and
07:11
follow their dreams but most of us were
07:15
left confused and unsure about our
07:17
future but America for me was going to
07:22
be a different place this was the land
07:25
of opportunities possibilities and
07:27
taking risks and yet I was measuring the
07:33
success of my American dream on in terms
07:36
of the wealth I was collecting and not
07:40
my personal goals and choices I realized
07:45
the American Dream is not a package deal
07:49
of having a job a car and a house it is
07:54
about making intentional choices for
07:57
yourself and taking ownership of those
08:00
choices
08:03
being close to my family waiting for the
08:07
right job opportunity and working at a
08:12
company that respected me was some of
08:15
the choices I made since losing my job
08:18
and the results just followed naturally
08:22
three years since I stand before you
08:24
sharing my journey today I'm leading
08:28
multiple projects at my new job I even
08:32
got a transfer to the company's world
08:34
headquarters in California with a new
08:37
visa and I'm running the house
08:40
single-handedly while my husband
08:42
completes his graduate degree today I'm
08:46
living my American dream of my choices
08:51
so my fellow dreamers I encourage you
08:55
all to share the pursuit of these
09:01
package dreams and begin to live your
09:06
dream of your choices because your dream
09:10
is the American dream
09:13
thank you
09:14
[Applause]
09:23
you
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 international 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 denied the job
you see after completing my studies on
02:54
my student visa I now needed an
02:57
employment visa to be able to work in
03:00
the US and this visa needed to be
03:03
sponsored by the company that would hire
03:05
me and after the economic crisis many
03:10
companies had adopted a no work visa
03:13
policy but I wasn't going to give up
03:17
this easily after all the u.s.
03:20
immigration system was designed to
03:22
attract talented and hardworking
03:24
individuals finally after a year of
03:29
interviews cold calls and unsolicited
03:32
job applications a company offered a job
03:36
to me they even agreed to sponsor my
03:39
visa I accepted the offer without
03:44
batting an eyelid there was just one
03:48
problem though this job was in a
03:51
different City when I mentioned this to
03:55
my husband he screamed freedom
04:01
now don't be so excited this just means
04:05
that you'd be doing your own dishes we
04:10
were newlyweds at the time and living
04:12
away from each other was not going to be
04:14
easy but we both agreed this was
04:18
important to me and my American dream
04:22
but my American Dream was shattered in
04:27
the first week at my new job despite
04:30
working long hours I was yelled at for
04:33
leaving work early I was marked for
04:36
being a woman in the man's world I was
04:39
often reminded why I was given this job
04:43
on one occasion I worked until midnight
04:47
to meet a project deadline the following
04:51
morning at a team meeting my boss threw
04:55
the project file
04:56
pooja if you worked on this piece of
05:00
shoot until midnight then shame on you
05:02
for being an engineer I froze in my
05:07
chair it was only when things look
05:11
blurry I realized I had tears in my eyes
05:13
I ran to the ladies room and cried my
05:18
eyes out but after a few minutes I
05:23
washed my face and walked right back
05:27
into the room this was one of the many
05:31
occasions when I just wanted to quit and
05:34
go back after working in the company for
05:39
two years my boss called me into his
05:42
office
05:43
pooja you're fired
05:49
you would think in that moment my
05:51
reaction would be of shock pain or anger
05:57
instead I walked out of his office took
06:02
my belongings and left as I was driving
06:09
home I asked myself what had I gained by
06:14
chasing this American dream a mounting
06:17
loan a life away from my family and my
06:21
husband a job that I did not even like
06:27
in the weeks that followed I felt so
06:31
rejected by this country and the dream
06:33
it had promised that I decided it was
06:36
just not worth chasing this American
06:38
dream I questioned my decision of moving
06:42
from India to the United States growing
06:46
up in India it was common to pursue a
06:49
degree in engineering or medicine
06:51
because it was considered prestigious it
06:54
was a safe choice and everyone was doing
06:57
it that was the Indian dream many of us
07:04
liked what we did some very few had the
07:09
courage to abandon their degrees and
07:11
follow their dreams but most of us were
07:15
left confused and unsure about our
07:17
future but America for me was going to
07:22
be a different place this was the land
07:25
of opportunities possibilities and
07:27
taking risks and yet I was measuring the
07:33
success of my American dream on in terms
07:36
of the wealth I was collecting and not
07:40
my personal goals and choices I realized
07:45
the American Dream is not a package deal
07:49
of having a job a car and a house it is
07:54
about making intentional choices for
07:57
yourself and taking ownership of those
08:00
choices
08:03
being close to my family waiting for the
08:07
right job opportunity and working at a
08:12
company that respected me was some of
08:15
the choices I made since losing my job
08:18
and the results just followed naturally
08:22
three years since I stand before you
08:24
sharing my journey today I'm leading
08:28
multiple projects at my new job I even
08:32
got a transfer to the company's world
08:34
headquarters in California with a new
08:37
visa and I'm running the house
08:40
single-handedly while my husband
08:42
completes his graduate degree today I'm
08:46
living my American dream of my choices
08:51
so my fellow dreamers I encourage you
08:55
all to share the pursuit of these
09:01
package dreams and begin to live your
09:06
dream of your choices because your dream
09:10
is the American dream
09:13
thank you
09:14
[Applause]
09:23
you