Samuel was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic. His first 5 years of life were happy and without many difficulties. But when he was 5, his father was transferred to pastor a church in Moca, a city that was drastically different than Samuel was used to. After moving, his family lived in a very dangerous neighborhood and faced scarcity and violence. Samuel saw so many violent confrontations while growing up that he thought it was a normal part of life. He also faced a lot of rejection at school.
But Moca’s church had a Compassion development center, where Samuel was welcomed and was connected with a loving sponsor. At the center, he received vocational and spiritual training. Many of the lessons he learned at the center have stayed in his heart and mind and have helped him greatly in daily live. But without a doubt, the most powerful part of attending the center for Samuel was seeing the staff and volunteers serve as examples of how Jesus would act toward others.
Today, Samuel is a civil engineer who owns his own company, which he dreams of expanding so he can both offer many young people job opportunities and influence the housing industry with better environmental practices. He also hopes to help families who don’t have resources build new, safer homes. Samuel is also the founder of a youth movement that empowers young people with limited opportunities to become entrepreneurs.
Samuel is passionate about business, personal development and leadership modeled after Jesus. He enjoys speaking to entrepreneurs and any large group or congregation, and one of his favorite topics is holding onto faith while waiting for God to fulfill his promises.