At 13, Thalles DeSouza and his family escaped dangerous conditions in Brazil, seeking a new start in Massachusetts. In high school, he took a job at a local Wendy’s to help support his family while planning a future in construction. His franchise owners, though, saw something different in him. Today, the 23-year-old is preparing for his freshman year at Yale University with full financial backing from the very people who employed him at the drive-thru window.
“I remember there were days when I was closing Wendy’s, and I used to think to myself, ‘I really want to move on,'” DeSouza said during an appearance on Good Morning America. “I thought if I go to construction, I can work hard, make money and eventually go to college.” But franchise owners Usama El-Sehrawey and Ernest Smily had other ideas. When they noticed his work ethic and potential, they made him an offer.
“I said, ‘OK, you need to work hard, but if you stay with us at Wendy’s, we will make sure you’ll be able to go to college,'” El-Sehrawey told him. “So just work hard, and for every hour you work, we’re gonna put money aside for your college education.”
El-Sehrawey and Smily funded his tuition to Cape Cod Community College because they saw a bright future in him. Years of hard work and their investment eventually led DeSouza to apply to Yale, where he was accepted with a 100% full scholarship valued at over 1 million reais.
“At the time, I had no idea how much that opportunity would change my life,” DeSouza wrote online. On Facebook, he shared a photo from the moment he thanked Smily’s son, Terry Smily, in person, showing them just how far their investment had taken him.
“They own all the Wendy’s restaurants across Cape Cod and the Plymouth area here in Massachusetts, but what has always stood out to me is not what they built as business owners. It’s the way they invest in people,” DeSouza wrote. He expressed deep gratitude to both families. “[It] opened a door that changed my life, and I will always be grateful. Sometimes all it takes is one person who believes in you. I’m living proof of that.”
DeSouza told CBS News that he didn’t have much faith in himself at the time. “People look to Wendy’s workers, and they think, you know, that is not a job I want to do one day. But I think if it wasn’t Wendy’s, if it wasn’t for the work ethics that I learned at Wendy’s, I don’t think I would have come to the place that I got.”
But DeSouza’s journey began in a reality far removed from the promise of higher education. In an Instagram video capturing his reaction to his Yale acceptance letter, he described nearly being killed in a shootout inside his own home while he slept. He recalled living “in the Vila Kennedy community, located in the Bangu neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro—one of the most dangerous places in Brazil, marked by violence, poverty, and loss, where many of my family members and friends lost their lives in shootouts.”
A decade later, he would attend Thalles DeSouza‘s dream school, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, with a 100% full scholarship.
In his Instagram caption, DeSouza shared words of encouragement to others facing similar circumstances. “Not long ago, I was right there—lost, directionless, and like so many others, just another unlikely statistic in the eyes of society. But God had the final word,” he wrote. “If there is one thing I hope people take away from my story, it is this: the favela was born to win, too. Where you come from does not determine where you can reach. And sometimes, the most impossible journeys take us to places we never imagined reaching. All glory to Jesus!”
DeSouza will begin his studies at Yale in September, majoring in political science and human rights on a pre-law track. His story stands as a testament to the power of mentorship and believing in people when they haven’t yet learned to believe in themselves.
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