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American Dream by Ted

it took 15 months hundreds of interviews

and innumerable tears to find a job

after I graduated (1)________ Clemson you know

why it was not because I was not

qualified or that I did not have the
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right skills it was not even (2)______________ I

had a very very thick Indian accent when

I came to (3)______________ 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 (4)________ 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 (5)______________________ my

achievement (6)________ my family and my

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


without a student visa

I (7)__________ 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
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my student visa I now needed an
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employment visa to be able to work in
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the US and this visa needed to be
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sponsored by the company that (8)__________ hire
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me and (9)__________ 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 offered a job
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to me they (10)________ 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 (11)____________ this job was in a
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different City when I mentioned this to
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my husband he screamed freedom
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now don't be so excited this just means
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that you'd be (12)__________ your own dishes we
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were newlyweds at the (13)________ and living
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away from each other was not (14)__________ 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 (15)________ at my new job despite
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working long hours I was yelled at for
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leaving work (16)__________ I was marked for
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being a (17)__________ in the man's (18)__________ I was
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often reminded why I was (19)__________ this job
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on one occasion I worked until midnight
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to (20)________ a project deadline the following
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morning at a team meeting 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 (21)______________ I
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washed my face and walked right back
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into the (22)________ 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 (23)__________ 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 (24)________ 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 (25)________________ 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 possibilities 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 (26)______________________ 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 (27)__________ (28)____________ 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 while my husband
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completes his graduate degree today I'm
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living my American 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 (29)______________ because (30)________ dream
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is the American dream
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thank you
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[Applause]
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you
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