October 29, 2018

Michael Lima Alves from Ibiraçu, Brazil, traveled nearly five hours one way to attend his PathwayConnect gathering each week.
It was a difficult task to achieve, but Michael felt determined to succeed as a student. This hunger to succeed is exactly what brought him to his dream job, education, and income.
Michael began to accomplish his goals

Michael’s income quadrupled through education and hard work.
For years Michael had heard about Brigham Young University-Idaho, but receiving an education there seemed nearly impossible. After hearing about PathwayConnect, he realized an education from a Church university was more attainable than he thought.
After successfully completing PathwayConnect, Michael joined an online certificate and degree program through BYU-Idaho. He still felt a little nervous about his English skills, but he found a way to move past those fears and continue forward.
“I always put in mind that I’m a child of God,” Michael said. “I knew I could achieve everything that I wanted in my life with His help.”
Becoming a software engineer was Michael’s main goal; so he was more than happy to begin taking courses to earn his certificate in computer information technology. He realized this education would help him throughout the rest of his life.
“One thing I always remembered is that a degree from the United States would have a big impact on every company that would hire me here in Brazil,” he said.
Networking helped Michael find the position he needed
As he moved forward in his degree, Michael began networking with software engineers and other working professionals in his field. He even had the opportunity to speak at a local university on software engineering.

Thousands of students each year find better employment after completing PathwayConnect.
“In my presentation, I made a slide that mentioned that I was a student from BYU-Idaho and that it was a university from the United States,” Michael said. “The audience was very impressed with it.”
In early 2017, Michael came in contact with a person who saw his presentation and informed him of a position he couldn’t pass up.
“I was told of an opportunity to temporarily work for a company based in Australia,” Michael said. “It was the biggest opportunity of my life.”
Michael received great blessings through his education
Even though he still felt unsure about his English skills, Michael thrived in his new position. After a month of working hard and juggling several responsibilities at once, Michael’s company asked if he would be willing to use his talents on a more permanent basis.

Michael’s faith and determination to succeed led him to his dream job.
“The company asked me if I could work more with them. I accepted that offer. After a while, they saw what I was doing and liked my work, so again they offered me a promotion. I accepted that offer as well.”
Michael’s life has changed since joining PathwayConnect and later BYU-Idaho’s online certificate and degree program, coordinated and presented through BYU-Pathway. He has even quadrupled his income since when he started with his new company! Through it all, he knows exactly where these blessings come from.
“Many blessings from God are coming and will continue coming because of what I’m learning through BYU-Idaho online courses,” Michael said.
Michael’s willingness to continue moving forward is what brought him to the position he’s in now. With help from PathwayConnect, BYU-Idaho Online, and, most importantly, Heavenly Father, Michael continues to accomplish his dreams.
“I always put in mind that I’m a child of God,” Michael said. “I knew I could achieve everything that I wanted in my life with His help.”
To learn more about how increased education can help you reach your financial goals like it helped Michael, visit byupathway.lds.org.
Comments on "How a PathwayConnect Student Quadrupled His Income"
Thank you so much for your encouragement and love.
Very inspiring story. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Michael, for sharing you experience. This surely will help me too overcome my own challenges.
Thank you Michael for your experience With Pathway Connect. Very inspiring.
Thank you Michael for sharing your story it is an encouragement to me to persuade my dreams and I know through Christ who strengthens me I can do all things.
Thank you Nandipha for your continuous subscription to our blog! We are so grateful to you for sharing your experiences and testimony.
That is awesome, you just lit up a light in me!
We are happy to hear the article’s positive impact on you! What do you plan to do with the inspiration that you received?
I am already 48 years old but I enrolled in Pathway Connect because I know Learning is a lifelong process and I still want to find a job even online to support myself.
Jesusa, thank you for sharing that with us! How is your experience with PathwayConnect so far?
I am so proud of Michael! He is a true inspiration to me, because I too want a higher education and I can only get that through the Lord’s university BYUI. I have true testimony of getting Heavenly Father to help me through. Just like Michael, with His help all the way I go to get my Bachelors degree. Congratulations Michael, much love from NYC.
Yesseniaamantinacunningham
Thank you for your inspiring response, Yessenia!
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