After protests erupted, nearly 4,000 bodies arrived into Venezulan prisons while 43 bodies were buried beneath Venezulan soil in 2014. That same year, son, scholar and Venezulan native Arnaldo Barrera took his first steps into the United States of America.
Although he was born into a lower income family, Arnaldo had a wonderful childhood. His family was humble and hard working. Arnaldo had dreams of becoming a scholar so he began working at a young age to save for post-secondary education. With the support from his family he managed to accumulate the funds to pursue college. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.
After completing his degree he and his family took a vacation to America. Arnaldo was captivated by American culture and knew he wanted to return. Shortly after, Arnaldo joined the workforce in Venezuela as an engineer for Petroleos de Venezuela SA. He immediately began to recognize that rampant government corruption was destroying the country and his success financially. He made the courageous decision to flee to the US.
Arnaldo applied for political asylum and received a work visa in the United States. Relevant Power saw the potential in Arnoldo and welcomed him onto the team. Arnaldo’s language barrier has made it a challenge to take full advantage of the education he and his family relentlessly worked for. “I feel everyone has to start from the bottom, so should I. I am taking English classes now, I want people to know that I worked hard to get to where I am.” Arnaldo said.
“I'm grateful to RPS for giving me the opportunity. It's a wonderful opportunity. I believe that one day I will be a mechanical engineer at RPS. I am grateful for their support." said Arnaldo.