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 (1)________ because I
had a very very thick (2)____________ accent when
I came to America it was only (3)______________ 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 (4)__________________ 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 (5)____________ 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 (6)________ as I
revealed my citizenship status
I sensed rejection I was denied the job
you see after completing my (7)______________ 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 (8)______________ 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 (9)__________ 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 (10)________ 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 (11)__________________ 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 (12)__________ 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 (13)________ 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 (14)________ this was one of the many
05:31
occasions (15)________ 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 (16)____________ 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 (17)________ (18)________________ (19)__________ a mounting
06:17
loan a (20)________ 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 (21)________ 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 (22)________ 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 (23)__________ 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 (24)________________ 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 (25)________ respected me was some of
08:15
the (26)______________ I made since losing my job
08:18
and the (27)______________ 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 (28)__________ the pursuit of these
09:01
package (29)____________ and (30)__________ 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 (1)________ because I
had a very very thick (2)____________ accent when
I came to America it was only (3)______________ 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 (4)__________________ 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 (5)____________ 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 (6)________ as I
revealed my citizenship status
I sensed rejection I was denied the job
you see after completing my (7)______________ 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 (8)______________ 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 (9)__________ 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 (10)________ 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 (11)__________________ 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 (12)__________ 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 (13)________ 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 (14)________ this was one of the many
05:31
occasions (15)________ 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 (16)____________ 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 (17)________ (18)________________ (19)__________ a mounting
06:17
loan a (20)________ 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 (21)________ 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 (22)________ 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 (23)__________ 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 (24)________________ 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 (25)________ respected me was some of
08:15
the (26)______________ I made since losing my job
08:18
and the (27)______________ 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 (28)__________ the pursuit of these
09:01
package (29)____________ and (30)__________ 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
Answers:
(1) even(2) Indian(3) because(4) attracted(5) gained(6) soon(7) studies(8) company(9) after(10) each(11) shattered(12) froze(13) room(14) room(15) when(16) moment(17) this(18) American(19) dream(20) life(21) felt(22) very(23) risks(24) American(25) that(26) choices(27) results(28) share(29) dreams(30) begin