Wendy’s Employee Earns Full Ride to Yale After Bosses Helped Him Go to Community College: ‘Your Generosity Opened a Door’
Wendy’s Employee Earns Full Ride to Yale After Bosses Helped Him Go to Community College: ‘Your Generosity Opened a Door’
Brian Anthony HernandezSun, August 9, 2026 at 11:30 PM UTC
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Thalles Winner DeSouza with Terry Smily and Usama El-Sehrawey at a Wendy’s; DeSouza finding out he got accepted into Yale UniversityCredit: Thalles W. DeSouza/Facebook; Thalles Winner De Souza/Instagram -
A young man shared his remarkable journey from surviving a shooting to being accepted into Yale University, and the role Wendy’s played
Thalles Winner DeSouza credited his bosses at the fast-food chain for investing in him and helping him earn his way into the Ivy League school
“Sometimes all it takes is one person who believes in you. I’m living proof of that,” the 23-year-old wrote on social media
One fast-food employee is taking Wendy’s old “do what tastes right” slogan to heart — and what tastes right for him is going to Yale University.
Thalles Winner DeSouza — who started working at a Wendy’s in Cape Cod, Mass., in high school before being promoted to a shift manager during his senior year — recently shared his remarkable journey from surviving a shooting in Brazil to being accepted into Yale, and the role the fast-food chain played.
In a July 28 Facebook post, the 23-year-old revealed how his bosses at his local Wendy’s helped him earn his way into the Ivy League school, writing, “Four years ago, while I was working as a manager at Wendy’s and finishing high school, Mr. Usama El-Sehrawey and the late Mr. Ernest Smily awarded me a scholarship to attend Cape Cod Community College.”
Thalles Winner DeSouza with Terry Smily and Usama El-Sehrawey celebrating his acceptance into Yale in front of the Wendy’s sign in Cape Cod, Mass.Credit: Thalles W. DeSouza/Facebook
DeSouza continued, “At the time, I had no idea how much that opportunity would change my life.”
“Today, four years later, I had the chance to thank [El-Sehrawey and Ernest’s son Terry Smily] in person and share where that investment has taken me,” he added. “This fall, I’ll be heading to Yale University!”
According to DeSouza, “What has always stood out to me is not what they built as business owners. It’s the way they invest in people.”
“Thank you … for believing in me. Your generosity 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,” he concluded the Facebook post.
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Thalles Winner DeSouzaCredit: Thalles Winner De Souza/Instagram
In May, when he found out that Yale had accepted him, DeSouza revealed that he moved to the United States after surviving a shooting in Brazil.
“In 2016, after nearly being killed by a shooting inside my own home while I was sleeping, my mother decided to drop everything and come to the United States,” he wrote in the caption of an Instagram video showing the moment he received his Yale acceptance letter.
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DeSouza will begin classes at Yale in the fall after having completed three years at Cape Cod Community College and one year at Bunker Hill Community College, according to Today.com.
“I’ll be majoring in political science, and my minor will be human rights,” DeSouza told the outlet.
“But everything will be on the pre-law track because I want to go to law school. That’s the plan,” he added.
on People
Source: “AOL Breaking”
