Episode: 76

Episode Title: How an F1 Student Visa Holder Achieved Her Dream, Pt. 1

Melody Yang was a young Gen-Z woman with a passion for tech. She was also an F1 visa holder—and that made her future very uncertain. Stay tuned for part 1 of her inspiring story, coming up next.

Ep 76 show:

Hello and welcome—you’re in the Perna Syndicate! I want to kick off our week with the inspiring story of Melody Yang, who didn’t just cope with uncertainty, but actually used it to fuel her journey to success. 

Melody was a motivated Gen-Z student who had come to the states from Taiwan to study business at Santa Clara University. As an F1 visa holder, whatever she could accomplish in her education was contingent on her ability to remain in the U.S. 

As for her dream of remaining here permanently to pursue her tech career…well, that was even more uncertain.

At college, Melody worked hard, but somehow it wasn’t enough. She’d thought that mastering the business side of product development would give her satisfaction, but she was wrong. She was a maker at heart—it was actually building stuff that excited her. 

This growing awareness of her own strengths led her down an unconventional path. While still enrolled full-time at Santa Clara, Melody also enrolled in Make School, an intense two-year computer science program.

Keeping up with college and Make School was tough—and being an F1 visa holder during an uncertain time in U.S. immigration made it even tougher. It was a big challenge for Melody to find internship and full-time jobs within her visa’s time constraints. The only thing she could be certain of—was uncertainty. But she didn’t let that stop her.

Don’t miss the rest of Melody’s story tomorrow, where we’ll find out how she did at Make School, and where she is today. See you then!