Joel Claveus came to the U.S. from Haiti in 2002, shortly after an earthquake hit his home country. Growing up as an orphan, he knew he couldn’t provide for himself and decided to move to the U.S.
Joel joined our Souderton beef facility soon after arriving and has stayed with the company ever since. As soon as he started at JBS, Joel decided he wanted to achieve great things working at the facility.
Jobie Pettigrew arrived in the U.S. 11 years ago, from the island of the Philippines. In the U.S., everything was new and different for Jobie – culture, language, values, people, environment, and lifestyle.
When she moved to the U.S., Jobie didn’t know how to drive a car, so her fellow team members in Ellijay drove her to work. “It’s a gesture I’ll never forget,” she said.
Daud Yohanna was born in Sudan. As a child, his only concerns were eating and playing, but that was before the Civil War (1987-2005). During the war, the local boys were separated from their parents, including Daud (10 years old) and his older brother (12 years old). They joined a group of boys, known as “The Lost Boys of Sudan,” who walked from Sudan to Ethiopia for 30 days to escape.
Aya Hamdi came to the U.S. from Jordan as a teenager. As an immigrant without knowledge of the laws and rights in the U.S., Aya faced a tough period.
After living in a shelter in Oklahoma, Aya found an advocate to help her to obtain a green card and moved to Texas.
Jordan Shaw had a rough early life. He was around a lot of gang violence and was the first male in his family who managed to stay out of prison and have the opportunity to go to college.
In 2016, Shaw found himself homeless and sleeping in a park. All he had was a bag of his belongings, water, noodles and a park bench.
For Mariane Veillette, perseverance was simply a way of life from a very early age. She and her family lived in a one-bedroom bamboo hut in the Philippines, where they slept on the floor. Living in a region known for unpredictable and often severe weather, that bamboo hut was destroyed over and over again in heavy rain. But the family persevered to rebuild their home each and every time.
Sophonie Masumbuko is originally from Congo. He moved to the country in 1996 from Tanzania and lived in Congo as a refugee for 14 years. Due a civil war and international military conflict that was happening at the time, he and his family no longer had a place to live. So when immigration offered them the opportunity to move to the United States, they accepted.
Blanca Moncayo is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. She immigrated to the United States in 2003 and joined our Fed Beef facility in Cactus, Texas, in 2009. She started in B-Shift Quality Assurance in ground beef and trim. She enjoyed the work but was looking for a bit more work-life balance.
Norma Hernandez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and moved to the U.S. with her parents when she was 5 years old. Hernandez joined our facility in Cactus, Texas, in 1995, as a production line worker. She worked her way up to become a Fabrication Trainer in 2008.
Angie Smith is a tech for the Physical Health and Safety Department at our JBS Pork facility in Ottumwa, Iowa. She started at JBS USA 32 years ago, following her family heritage in the meatpacking industry. Her grandfather and her father both worked at the same facility for years. In addition to Angie, her brother has been with the company for 35 years and her son has been with the pork facility for five years.
Jolly Paw was born in Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups. Due to the Civil War, he and his family fled to Thailand, where they lived in a refugee camp. Living in the camp was difficult as Jolly and the others faced a time of uncertainty about their futures, their children’s education, and how to provide for their families.
Robbie Adamson was born and raised in Ottumwa, Iowa, and still enjoys calling the community home. Looking back on his childhood, he recognizes that his parents likely had their hands full dealing with his rambunctious nature. He also recognizes that getting involved in boxing as a youth likely kept him on the straight and narrow.
Looking for a new career opportunity, Benito “Benny” Casillas-Lopez joined the beef industry in 2005, starting as a warehouse clerk at the JBS Regional Beef facility in Tolleson, Ariz. He settled in, working hard to learn and move up through the ranks. By 2008, he was promoted to Preventive Maintenance Scheduler and spent the next several years enjoying his career and the opportunities it provided for his family. And then in 2015, suddenly, everything changed on a dime.
Edmond Ebah lived in Cotonou, Benin in West Africa when he won the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery in 2016 to come to the United States. Coming to the U.S. was a great opportunity for him and his family. But since his wife was pregnant and very close to her due date at the time, Edmond had to make the difficult decision to travel to the U.S. alone, waiting until he was established here before bringing his wife and son to join him.
Alma Valverde arrived in the U.S. in 1984. After working through various jobs for many years, she landed at JBS in 1996 as an hourly production worker in Fabrication. Here, Alma found not only the opportunity to provide for her children, but she also found a place to grow and thrive. She found a second family.