08/13/2026
Thalles Winner DeSouza spent his high school years working at a Wendy's in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and planned to leave for a job in construction after graduating. His managers, Usama El Sehrawey and the late Ernest Smily, had a different plan and promised to help pay for his education if he stayed on.
They kept that promise, setting aside extra money for every hour DeSouza worked and using it to cover three years of tuition at Cape Cod Community College. DeSouza made the most of the opportunity, earning straight A's, serving two terms as student body president and starting a campus religious club, before transferring to Bunker Hill Community College.
His grades and work ethic eventually earned him a full scholarship to Yale University, where he will begin classes this fall studying political science with a minor in human rights, on a pre law track toward becoming a lawyer.
DeSouza moved to the United States from Rio de Janeiro when he was thirteen years old. He has credited his bosses believing in him with changing the course of his life.
