our stories

When Ana Vargas was 14 years old, her family immigrated to the Midwest from Mexico. Speaking no English, Ana struggled to find her voice in America, but she persevered and, over time, began to understand the new language by watching children’s cartoons.

Ana’s journey to Swift Prepared Foods was not an easy one. After graduating high school, she began college studies in early childhood education and got married. When she found out she was pregnant with her first child shortly following her wedding, Ana set aside her college plans to take care of her growing family.

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After high school, Victor Neri-Cordova was on a fast-track to a college degree when his citizenship status disrupted his full ride scholarship. A top student in his class, Victor knew education was important to his future, but this obstacle forced those dreams aside in the process.

His education on hold, Victor became an hourly team member in production at Swift Prepared Foods in his hometown of Ottumwa, where he was quickly promoted to a position in quality assurance. In 2021, just a year and a half into this role, Victor was promoted once again, this time poised for a position as a quality assurance supervisor in Council Bluffs.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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