Georgia Consenca

Business Management Student + iBelong Philly Member

Nomination:

Nominated by Ingrid: "She is a special girl."

About Georgia:

Georgia, originally from Brazil, moved to Philadelphia with her husband, who received an opportunity to relocate due to a job promotion. Georgia, however, was unable to find work due to the limitations of her visa.

Georgia recalls how she encountered many challenges, including the language barrier, living far away from her family, and the frustrations of not being able to find employment here, despite having many work experiences in Brazil.  To overcome these barriers, she decided to take more than five English classes every day.  One of Georgia’s desires was to start at the Community College of Philadelphia. When she realized that you have to take a complicated test, Georgia began to network at events that broadened her connection base. Through this, she eventually got two job interviews. For Georgia, one of the most significant changes with moving to Philadelphia was how fast you have to grow up. She explains that while living in Brazil, she had her parents and boyfriend at the same time for support. But in Philadelphia, she started to do most everything independently, with much less support from others like she had been used to in Brazil.

Georgia feels she has learned a lot, and her passion for helping people, in different ways, came from the Immigrant Leadership Institute from The Welcoming Center, different English Classes, and Culinary classes she has attended. Georgia continues to help others today as much as she can, thanks to the opportunity to connect with IBelong Philly, which she credits as another step in her journey to establish her network and connect with others. Her favorite annual event is One City Many Cultures, where each member of IBelong Philly shares a part of their home country with the public.  She personally connects to her roots through food and music. She also loves walking dogs in her free time.  

Georgia encourages other immigrants to keep going, to not let their accent be a barrier, and to overall find a way to be more confident. Everybody can do it! She mentions immigrants should follow their dreams since they are in a new country, in a new culture.

"I want to share my story, so people can see that I am a regular person. I don't have anything new, like I don't sing to kids and anything like that, but, I'm here. And I did it. So, if I did, you can do it, and together we can grow more, and more."

Article by I Belong Philly. Created by Waleska Lopez, Geórgia Consença, Ben Goebel and Maria Gonzalez.

Quotes from Georgia:

"You are worth it, you need to follow your dreams. You don't need to stop your dreams because you're in a new country or a new culture. You can find ways to be yourself, and you don't need to change your personality, or the way you speak, for anybody. Embrace your accent, cook your food, embrace your cultural roots ,and be yourself the way you are—because that's great!