#19 🇪🇨 Alienation, Financial Distress, Sheer Adversity - Andrew Villegas (4K)

In this episode we are joined by a someone who comes from one of the most exotic countries on the planet. This person was easily one of my best friends at college. But that crazy thing is, a lot of what we discuss in this episode, was completely new to me. We go very deep. During his second last year of highschool, he had his sights set on the US. It wasn’t until the moment he met Augustana at the University Fair, he made his decision to take the leap of faith and come to the heart of America & study in the midwest. His time at college was seriously tough. He struggled to connect to American culture and that left him feeling alone for a lot of his time at college. There was a real fear that this person would not be able to finish college because of his tough financial situation. Still to this day I am not entirely sure if he actually got his degree. Upon finishing college a semester early, this person found themselves in limbo not being able to work. Waiting years for his green card to be approved, he was stuck in the US with no way to earn an income. He used this time to learn coding of all things, completely unrelated to his studies, later on becoming a software engineer for a national company where he is working today. Last year this person became a father, triggering a new level of responsibility. I’m proud of how this person’s grit and determination has got him to where he is today. He doing everything in his power to be the best father possible despite the rollercoaster of a ride this person has been on. There is no stronger bond than a parent and their baby, but I think the relationship I share with this person is a close second. Strap yourselves in for an epic conversation. It’s time to go Back to College with Andrew. SHOW LINKS Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew on ⁠Insta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gram Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Chapters: 0:00 Trailer 1:51 Introduction 5:58 Welcome Andrew 6:57 Back on Campus 9:07 Life Lately (with a new baby) 11:23 Constant Up-skilling 15:02 The First mistake... Chemistry 18:05 The American Dream 21:15 Growing up in Ecuador 27:36 The decision to go abroad 30:48 JV Basketball 41:20 Not fitting in 47:14 Becoming closed off 51:19 Financial Struggle 57:58 Degree still in progress 59:49 Psychology Classes 1:04:29 Surprising highlight of college 1:09:06 Chess Wiz 1:23:50 Andrew's Letter Grade 1:28:20 Green card complications 1:30:48 Self-Development Journeys 1:34:20 Advice for International Student