Shortly after moving to the United States from Cuba in 2015, Manny Pérez Ochoa and his family were struck with a tragedy. His father, Idael Pérez Maldonado, was killed instantly in a fatal car crash.
Pérez Maldonado had a dream of owning a restaurant and keeping his family close together. Just one month before his passing, the family had purchased Havana Carolina in downtown Concord, NC.
Now, a junior finance major at UNC Charlotte, Manny helps to manage Havana Carolina with his sister, a political science student and their mother.
“I promised my dad that I was going to finish my college career and that's what I'm doing now,” says Manny. He adds that maintaining a restaurant while also attending school is hard, but that he enjoys them both, “I'm learning everyday.”
Despite the commitment and difficulty of balancing the two, Manny stays focused on his goals. “I go to sleep late (2am) because I either need to study or because I need to plan the next events happening at Havana Carolina the weeks after,” he says, “Managing a business and going to school at the same time is difficult and requires a lot of effort and desire.
With his mother and sister by his side and his father’s words with him, Manny is on the path to his dreams. “Anything is possible, even when life becomes really hard, you have to keep moving.”
