Diego Saldeño — The Value of Work
One of the most important things for me is the value of work. You must have a big, long-term goal. Because when you have a goal you can work taking the necessary steps towards reaching that goal. My name is Diego Saldeño, I come from Venezuela, I moved to the United States around 2008 to complete my education, after I graduated, I moved to New York and I have been in New York since 2012.
I had a great childhood in Venezuela. What I loved when I was little was spending time with my friends and playing soccer. The problems began around 2005-2006 when the economy and security in Venezuela began a fast decline. When I was finishing high school I realized that I wanted to be a publicist, and knowing that, I wanted to be in the best city in the world in that field which was New York. After I finished college, I moved to New York. Coming from Venezuela, the first thing that surprised me was how secure I felt being able to walk on the street at night, it was something I was never able to do in Venezuela.
The first two years in New York were very hard because I had never been so lonely in my life. It was tough at the beginning and little by little you start creating your life in your new home. In the last few years, I met my wife, got married and today I have my own advertising agency. We work with brands that want to get into different markets. Due to my hard work and a little bit of luck, I have had success and I have been able to help family and friends that have had a hard time in Venezuela and were directly impacted by Covid-19. We are now working together to create a school in Venezuela that will teach English to children who do not have the means to pay for an education to learn English.
The American dream is to have the freedom that the United States has to offer, to have lots of opportunities and have a better quality of life. Us Latinos know how fortunate we are to be in the United States and it shows through the work that we do. Basically this country would be completely different without immigrants. Many of the leaders of the biggest US enterprises are immigrants themselves.
DREAM BIG! Where do you see yourself in five years? Where do you see yourself in ten years? Do what you need to do in your work to get to that goal.