For five years, Joel worked under the sun and rain on a farm in Mendoza, Argentina, dedicating himself to harvesting grapes to make juices and wines.
With the income he earned every month, equivalent to a minimum wage, he paid the monthly fees for the Electromechanical Engineering course.
At the beginning of this year, the fight came to an end: Joel presented his TCC (Course Completion Work) in college, earned his diploma and is now a trained engineer!
“In the heat of the sun and with dirty clothes on a farm, I still imagined one day getting my electromechanical engineering diploma”, said the young man, proud of his achievement, after receiving the course completion certificate.
For many people, going to university after completing high school is a natural and even mandatory path. But not everyone has this opportunity.
Shortly after turning 17, Joel saw his mother lose her job and sink into debt, as she supported the family alone. With almost no resources to even go to school, he saw the dream of becoming an engineer getting further and further away.
Still, he didn’t give up! Defying the malicious comments of some family members, Joel prepared himself for the entrance exam, being approved at a private university in Mendoza, Argentina.
The monthly fees were expensive, and the young man had to manage to pay for the course. “I live with my mother and my brothers. My father is deceased. At the time I was approved, we had no money for anything. So, I had to find a job to fulfill my dream”, explained the young man, who was hired by a local farm to harvest the vines.
While his mother did odd jobs as a cleaner and day laborer, Joel spent eight, sometimes twelve hours a day in the fields, before rushing to get ready and go to college.
As the months passed, he began to rely on his brothers for help. “We were paid according to the amount of fruit picked. We took them one by one manually”, he recalled.
Reconciling work with studies was a huge challenge for Joel, who lost count of how many times he arrived at college tired, almost unwilling to keep up with classes.
When remembering his father, who died when he was a child, the Argentine student was inspired and managed to do the activities. “Studying became a way of honoring and honoring my father,” he said.
While studying Electromechanical Engineering, Joel heard all sorts of unnecessary comments from family members. “They said it wasn’t for me, that it was too expensive to pay and that the course was a waste of time”.
