Faith and hard work take immigrant from janitor job to a master's degree and engineer's position

Intermountain Catholic

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José Jimenez (left) and Father Javier Virgen, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Magna, share a friendship. Fr. Virgen said that Jimenez is a Catholic role model for the community. IC photo/Laura Vallejo

WEST VALLEY CITY – Ten years ago, José Jimenez came to Utah dreaming of a better future. With an engineering degree from the Universidad Guadalajara in Mexico, he had dreams of a successful career in the field of information technology.

But as with many immigrants who come to the United States, Jimenez’s dreams got delayed by a variety of circumstances.

When he arrived, the 23-year-old Jimenez spoke little English. He was able to find a job as a janitor, cleaning a warehouse and offices at online discount retailer Overstock.com in Salt Lake City.

"It was an honest job, and I was happy to have it," said Jimenez, a parishioner of Saints Peter and Paul in West Valley.

Still, he wanted more, and having faced other obstacles in his life, even death, he knew if he kept working hard and having God and the Virgin Mary present in his everyday life he would at some point achieve his dreams.

"When I was younger I had a severe brain infection and the doctors told my parents I was not going to make it, but I didn’t give up and neither did one of the doctors, who suggested, against all the odds, a vaccination that had little if no probability [of being effective], and it worked," said Jimenez. "So when I started working at Overstock I knew the biggest challenge was that I needed to learn English. I had to be able to communicate. Fortunately, those whom I worked with were willing to help me."

His hard work paid off. Several months after he started at Overstock.com, an opening occurred in the shipping department. Jimenez applied for a job as a packer and got it.

"My supervisors saw me growing in my job and how hard I was working,’’ Jimenez said, "They began to trust my work."

Meanwhile, he started attending night school to earn a master’s degree in information technology. To make ends meet, he shared a car and a basement apartment with his brother, a hotel worker in downtown Salt Lake City.

"He would drop me off at work and then pick me up when my shift was over and take me to the University of Phoenix for my classes,’’ Jimenez said.

"His enthusiasm, his drive of never giving up in this country that is full of challenges as well as opportunities, makes him a great example for our community," said Father Javier Virgen, who was Jimenez’s pastor at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish. "José is an immigrant who is not a quitter. He works really hard and faces challenges with faith."

Now pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Magna, Fr. Virgen has close ties with Jimenez. Both are from the same town in Guadalajara and their families knew each other.

"It’s an honor to have a person here who comes from the same place that I came from, and José is a very good person, a very hard-working man with a lot of faith and very strong family values," said Fr. Virgen.

Jimenez has continued to advance his career. In 2006, after going through Overstock.com’s leadership training program, he became manager for all of the company’s packing operations. It was also the year that Jimenez gained U.S. citizenship.

Two years after Jimenez earned his master’s degree in 2008, he joined the company’s IT operation, where he now works as a junior quality assurance engineer, testing the software used to run the company’s warehouse systems.

"I would like someday to oversee my own team," Jimenez said.

His personal life also has grown. Jimenez married his childhood sweetheart and the couple now has two children. The family, along with Jimenez’s brother, attends Mass every Sunday at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish.

"I have always been sure that God is always there," Jimenez said. "I do not have to worry. I just leave everything in God’s hands and keep working hard. If we are true to ourselves, God will take care of the rest."