We are proud to present an immimentary* about an immigrant who found success in America and who find great satisfaction in working as an interdisciplinary designer.

Hi, I’m Jack, and this is my immigrant story. I was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. I’m 31 years old and spent 27 years of my life there. Ireland is a great place to live, with a wonderful education system and a unique upbringing. Like many other countries, it has a very small and tightly knit community.
We were breaking rules when we were 16 and doing all sorts of things, playing a lot of sports when I was younger. Underage drinking… the whole experience goes with being young in Ireland. There was just a lot of fun and many good times I had as a kid. I have one sister, a nephew, and a niece.
All throughout my entire life, it has kind of just been a society built on seizing opportunities. For us, being comfortable with the attitude of failure and really just going for it has allowed us to get the most out of our lives. We have a good time, not really worrying about a lot of the woes that life throws at you. We definitely have a culture that makes a lot of opportunities, a lot of jokes, and a lot of laughter about some of the shortcomings that happen in life. But I think, with all of that, there’s a solid foundation and a great environment for people to truly thrive and pursue what they want.
As a kid, I think there was not a lot of pressure on the people around me, including myself, to just go out and be kids, which was great. I still have many friends that I’m very close with, who are all across the world at the moment, and I’ve known them since I was four or five years old. In Ireland, we tend to have many people who go as far across the globe as possible. As you’re listening to this, I’m sure you’ve encountered an abundance of Irish bars around the world. If you go to any big city, you’ll find one on every corner. This is a testament to us, the Irish, and our ability to adapt and overcome the various external forces that lead us to migrate.
As a kid, I don’t think it was ever a goal of mine. I know I was very fortunate to visit the U.S. and a lot of Central Europe with my family, which was a blast, but it was never my intention to be an immigrant. I don’t think it is for a lot of Irish people either. Growing up in Ireland, we were privy to a lot of different cultures that migrate into the country. Obviously, we’re a very welcoming country, and we have a lot of immigrants ourselves.
The fact that we’ve seen various economic conditions has allowed many Polish, Romanian, and Spanish people to migrate here. While we are very welcoming, we also understand that we have experienced migration ourselves throughout our history. It’s always a warm experience to see and communicate with many of the immigrants in Ireland. It feels as though we are almost destined to embrace this aspect of our identity, as we’ve done it for thousands of years.
It’s always been something that I think is innate to being Irish: we try to enter rooms with a myriad of different people and connect with them. That’s kind of what other cultures have done within Ireland, and we’ve welcomed them, hoping that they feel welcome as well. I feel like, growing up, travel has never been a barrier; we’ve never been afraid to go anywhere. While it wasn’t ever a feeling of needing to get away or be somewhere else, it has been something that hasn’t been terrifying. There’s no uncertainty about the idea of going somewhere else and wondering what it will be like or how I will adapt.
It’s just part of our nature to gel into a community and adapt to the philosophy of wherever we go, being part of the roots and trying to help the community grow, wherever we land. My dad was never a big traveler; he liked to go to the U.S. since we have a little bit of family on the East Coast. My dad is one of ten children, and my mother is one of eight, so I come from big families with a lot of migration across the board. On my dad’s side, specifically, his eldest sister moved to the U.S. when she was 16, I think. My dad could have only been five or six at the time and didn’t fully understand the concept.
As he got older, in his late teens, he decided, “Hey, my oldest sister lives in America; it would be great if I could go over and visit her”. He spent quite a bit of time there and loved it. As everyone knows, the Irish are welcomed everywhere. I don’t know, maybe it’s just because we’re a good time! The fact that he would always come back and tell great stories about his younger years and living in the U.S. is something I cherish.
It just showed this fearlessness and the ability to adapt in those situations. It was something that always lingered in the back of my mind: maybe I could follow my dad’s footsteps and make a name for myself, go somewhere else, learn new things, adopt new cultures, and make him proud. This lifestyle appealed to me, as I wanted to experience some of the things he had experienced himself.
As I got older and went through school, I still felt that it was nice to travel to Europe. However, it was only when I got to college that things changed. I studied science for a year, but it ended up not being the right course for me. I was terrified to tell my parents that I wanted to pursue something else in design. Eventually, I grew the confidence to share my thoughts with them, and once I did, that path unlocked completely new doors for me.
I had the opportunity to study in San Francisco for six months after I turned 18. Like anything else, it was a cultural instinct to say “yes” more than “no,” and everything was pulling at me to just go and experience it.
We did it, myself and six students. We went out and stayed in San Francisco for six months, living off, you know, pennies on the dollar to try and get by. We were eating hot dogs for dinner and slices of pizza to make two meals. When I came back, I thought, “This is fantastic!” It was a real reflection on the cultural landscape in Dublin and the opportunities available, both fiscally and professionally. There was definitely an imbalance. Coming out of college, there are only a certain number of jobs available for students, and a lot of my generation are kind of forced to excel in their fields to land a good job, a well-paying job and a good lifestyle in Dublin or to migrate to places like London, Australia, Canada, and specifically the U.S. The U.S. is tricky, obviously, because of a lot of the visa issues.
So, it’s a great period, and a lot of people will go there, maybe for 6 months to a year on work visas, but then they end up coming home. A lot of my friends went to Australia for about 4 years and then found themselves missing home, obviously because the distance is so great. The same goes for a few who went to Vancouver in Canada.
I was presented with the opportunity, and I was very fortunate to get a job in Dublin right after college. I was at the top of my class, and I really enjoyed it. However, a year after graduating and working at this company, I started to feel a little stagnant. I couldn’t quite figure out what was leading me to this almost anxious depression, a mix between the two.
It wasn’t for lack of trying to expand my horizons and travel a bit, but my dad was a little sick at the time, and my parents were going through a divorce. It was an opportunity for me to escape from that polarizing climate I was finding myself in. I had the chance to take a J1 visa to go to the U.S. for a year. It was a J1 graduate visa, which gave me the opportunity to work in my field for a whole year, almost like an apprenticeship or intern role. With that role, I was given the documents and told I could go over and find a job.
Once you get there, it’s different from the regular J1, where you need to have something locked in before you go across. I took it upon myself; I thought, “Yes, let’s do it! What do we have to lose?” There was a little bit of guilt, obviously, with the family, but knowing I had the comfort of a great environment around me and having many friends who had already moved across the country and the world, it felt like a “let’s go for it” moment. You know, if not now, then when?
So I packed my bags and made my way to the U.S. After about a year and a half into that job, I would say, for lack of a better term, for better or worse, it ended up being the best decision I’ve ever made in my entire life. Once I got to the U.S., it became apparent to me that this was an opportunity I really needed to make the most of. I was filled with passion, enjoyment, and the drive to go after my goals. I had a list of different companies that I was going to apply to.
I landed in Chicago, and I chose to move there specifically because, you know, New York has a lot of Irish people, and California is too far away. California just seemed like the best spot to go. I didn’t know a lot of people there, and I kind of wanted to start fresh. I felt set in my roots with a lot of mundane activities back in Ireland, so I wanted something that would take me out of my comfort zone.
Arriving there, like I said, you kind of figure things out. You stay in a hostel, meet other Europeans, and stick with them because there’s a level of comfortability that you’re all sharing in this experience of a completely new culture. I had been to the U.S. a few times before that, and obviously when I was in San Francisco, but this time it was different, you’re on your own, and you have to fend for yourself.
You’ve got to roll with the punches as you go, and I didn’t fully understand the extent of what would be required from me mentally until much later into the experience. However, I got to enjoy those first couple of months. I was green; you know, I was going to White Sox games with people from the hostel and visiting different apartments to stay with other housemates, trying to figure out what areas to live in. A lot of that was really exciting, really exciting to be a part of this rush in this giant metropolis that was completely different from Ireland.
We don’t have buildings that go past the fifth floor, and now I’m in Chicago with buildings that wobble at the top, where the toilet water shakes when you’re trying to go to the bathroom. It was bananas!
I started to get my feet grounded a bit more, applying to a lot of roles, and I began to notice a recoil given the time I was applying. As soon as I moved there, Trump had just been elected, and ICE was in full force, so visa sponsorship and immigration were hot topics at the time. There were some companies I was interviewing with that, after two and a half months, would ultimately say, “We’re sorry, but we’re not actually able to take you on” even though I was qualified, had met everyone, and had gone through this whole process for as long as we had. Their parent company didn’t know what the climate would look like in a year from now, so they couldn’t invest in me with the potential that things might not go according to plan.
I was definitely taking blow after blow. I found my finances dwindling a little, and I was getting nervous and scared that what I had built up in my head prior to going wasn’t coming to fruition. With each rejection or barrier to fulfilling what I really wanted, what I thought would be an easy win ended up not being the case. Slowly, I started to pick up a bit of momentum.
I applied for a role in a fabrication studio, and I was also an online design editor for an online editorial while doing bartending. At one point, I was juggling three different jobs, trying to make ends meet. I was coming home covered in sawdust after cutting foam for six to eight hours, then going home and trying to type out editorial pieces. The next day, I would work at a bar.
It was a lot of ongoing pressure that I wasn’t ready for. I went from having a great job at a great company back home in Ireland, very privileged in that regard, to trying to be independent and not sharing that information with my family back home. You don’t want to be that person who says, “Oh, I made this big jump,” to your parents, who are excited to hear about your progress. They ask, “How’s it going? Did you get a great job?” There’s almost this guilt and a level of hidden disappointment that you don’t want to portray to them. So, you kind of say, “Oh, it’s great! I have this great job; this is what I’m doing” even amid those struggles.
I also met my wife during those challenging times, and she alleviated a lot of that stress. It was as if, amidst the chaos, she created a level of peace that helped me live in the moment much more. I transitioned from the collective chaos of trying to stabilize my life to understanding that all this chaos had a root cause. Meeting her helped me maintain a balance.
I had thought that the whole plan was to be back in Ireland after a year, gain this experience, go home, tell stories, maybe get a raise at the company I was previously working for, and leverage different opportunities. However, time seemed to stand still after meeting her. These jobs were providing me with the opportunity to embrace a different experience: being present and not worrying about back home or what a year from then might look like. I learned to see how life would unfold.
As time progressed, a couple of those jobs started falling away, and I began looking for something more long-term, something that could provide me with a bit more income so that we could enjoy nice dinners. I recall one incident where I was worried about telling her how unstable everything was on my end. I feel like hot dogs become a staple of my life at this stage! I would stay at home, eat hot dogs with slices of bread and tomato ketchup to fill myself up a little bit before going out to dinner with her, so I wouldn’t spend too much money on myself and we could have a good time.
I made a couple of sacrifices; for example, I had a mattress on the floor, and nothing was new. A lot of my clothes were from the thrift store. I was just really trying to ensure that my time was spent on experiences rather than material items. It became apparent that being around the people, my wife and all the new friends I was making, was what it was really all about. It wasn’t about personal gain or trying to think, “Oh, I deserve this, so I should get it”.
It was about deserving to be in a good place, in a good environment, and experiencing new things that are not attainable back home in Ireland. It took a while to reach that level, but it didn’t come without its shortcomings, especially mentally. I don’t think there’s a big taboo around mental health in Ireland, and around seeking help, expressing your struggles, and acknowledging your weaknesses. I found myself lacking the right tools when I moved to the U.S., and I didn’t realize I needed to equip myself with those tools before getting there.
It was only after about six months of being in the U.S. that I found myself hyper-agitated, struggling to deal with a lot of emotions. I felt the distance from my family and not being close enough to people I could really trust or rely on, at least, that’s how I perceived it. That external pressure really suffocated me, and I had a lot of troubles with anxiety and depression. I struggled to be still, panicking and worrying. It was actually the first time I experienced a panic attack because I was ill-equipped to handle what was going on.
I was worrying about finances for the first time on my own and not having someone I could wholeheartedly rely on. Amid all those struggles and challenges to make things happen, I feel as though it made me, at least from my perspective, mature rapidly, vastly beyond what I could have conceived as a maturity level at that time. I don’t think it was something I was ready for, nor do I think it was something I could plan for, but I am grateful that it did happen.
At the same time, while it was difficult, I was fortunate to have people around me. I believe that creating a small, micro-community of chosen family is essential to being an immigrant. My wife’s family was very welcoming to me at the time; they included me in every holiday and event possible, which quickly created a second family for me. I owe a lot of who I am today to the glue of the foundation that filled many of the cracks that were starting to show around that time.
It helped me add a lot of stability to my life while I was starting to fall apart at the seams. From that, I was able to look at the long game, the bigger picture. I think with the love that I was shown, because I isolated myself a lot, and the love I received that I didn’t think I deserved at the time, I realized I didn’t see myself as successful. I felt there were many shortcomings that I was responsible for. However, I was shown a lot of love that helped break down those walls and made me reflective of the fact that I had made that jump, that leap as an immigrant. I was doing what is, in light of things, a rite of passage as an immigrant: to fail, to keep going, to persevere, and to have strength in that. But also, I learned to confide in my chosen family.
This helped me recognize that while there are hardships, there is beauty in finding those connections that are forged through the bonds that you don’t just get from sitting in a room with someone. You acquire them through hard times, through hardships, and from people who have boundless love to give relentlessly. It allowed me to, as I said, look at the bigger picture and realize that there is so much more here, so much more experience, so much more love, and so many more opportunities for me to pursue if I just stay.
I fulfill the connection that I’ve forged with my now-wife and continue on that path of saying yes to experiences. So that’s how it all started: let’s see what happens when we go into the unknown and say yes more. That was kind of a turning point for me, as things were starting to fall apart, and I was thinking, “This is harder than it should be. I don’t know if I’m strong enough for this”.
But having this family around me, who said, “You are strong enough to do this,” was a clear sign that I could continue because it was worth it. I ended up getting a job at a startup in Chicago that was willing to sponsor me beyond the year of my visa. While it was underpaid at the time, I jumped on it. Of course, I thought, “It’s not about money at this moment; it’s about staying here, feeling those feelings and emotions, and building on that courage”. I had the opportunity to do that with this startup, and I pursued it.
I wasn’t thinking about how long this would last or what could go wrong; I was almost blinded to any consequences outside of being diligent and understanding the risks. I was also focused on what the rewards could be.
That was a roller coaster in itself. You know, we were selling small phone accessories and charging power products. One weekend, the company almost went down because of some complications with pricing. It ended up going from a company of six or eight people to just myself and the CEO, who was two years younger than me but had a great track record of success. So, I went blindly into the mist and said, “Yeah, tell me what to do; let’s do it!”
At one point, we changed the company’s focus. Instead of designing and manufacturing hardware goods, we shifted to being a logistics and quality control company. I found myself in a position where I was doing design work, handling customer service, and managing multiple levels of customer service.
At one point, we were on the phones, and I would be taking calls as Jack, using my Irish accent. If the issue needed to be escalated, I would switch to an Australian accent to represent someone else. Then, if it needed to go to the very top boss, I would adopt an English accent, portraying the head of the entire operation.
I remember coming home exhausted, covered in sawdust from working crazy hours of physical labor, not eating enough, and just feeling drained. Now, I was being put into a role where I had to use three different accents to fulfill this entire company’s needs, even though it didn’t really exist. There are levels of exploitation that come with many of these roles that a lot of companies are aware of.
However, being in that position, it’s not that you are completely unaware of the circumstances; rather, you are excited about all the skills you’re learning and everything that’s happening around you. All these experiences are so novel that you wouldn’t encounter them back home.
So, these are stories that I get to tell and different life experiences that I feel, I feel sad that people back home in Ireland don’t have the opportunity to share them with their friends or recall them in their own minds when they’re at home, or even with their life partners. It’s unfortunate that some of the craziest years of my life so far have all been with the love of my life and my extended family.
It’s always funny telling some of those stories back to my family at home because that’s what a lot of rural Ireland used to be about those kinds of experiences. My dad, for example, when I talked about him earlier, was a grafter; he was always a salesman and was always adaptable to life experiences. Getting to create those experiences myself and having some of the more bizarre experiences akin to some of the things he did when he was growing up has created a strong bond with my own family and my parents.
There are stories that maybe they wouldn’t share with me about their hard times and shortcomings, but I was able to relate to them on that level by sharing my struggles. In return, they would share some of their earlier struggles too, which opened up a stronger relationship with my parents. Being able to get on top of that, get past a lot of those struggles, and then laugh about it afterward with them has created a new level of intimacy. I can share how bad things can get, but also…
The emotional value that comes with a lot of these experiences is sacred. You can only share them almost like currency, once you have gone through them. This applies not only to family but also to other immigrants, as we often laugh about how bad things can be. For example, what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
A brief example from my life is when I worked in a fabrication studio in Chicago. My wife, who was in art school pursuing her master’s degree, needed a lot of cut marble slabs for a project. I carried a milk crate full of marble for about a mile and a half onto a train, took it off, and brought it into her school so she could complete her project. When I arrived, I was covered in sweat, and the sight of me with the milk crate full of marble spoke for itself. She was amazed that I had managed to bring so much marble with me.
The fabrication studio was located next to a marble cutter, or countertop manufacturer, which allowed me to stumble upon many experiences that enrich life and produce beauty in unexpected areas. I believe there is a certain magic in getting on a bus in the South Side of Chicago and riding it for 20 minutes with no headphones, no laptop, nothing.
Nobody wants to rob you when you’re at the lowest and poorest side of Chicago, especially when you’re covered in sawdust. People almost think that you’re worse off, and they might say, “I’m not going to go near that guy because he looks like he’s having a bad day”. But you’re just tired from working, and it provides you with the opportunity to see a lot more of life. I think when all you have to receive is life, you’re not worried about other things. You want to experience things, and you’re not concerned about talking to anyone because you’ve got nothing to lose. I think there is a beauty in that.
So, with this journey until now, my wife and I have lived in Chicago, where we met, then moved to Boston, to LA, and now we’re in Maryland. I’ve had several jobs, which I’m very fortunate to have. It’s been a roller coaster, but I’ve always been somewhat driven. I’ve been happier to embrace and really roll with experiences. However, because of how tough the start of the journey was in Chicago, it has created this intense drive and desire to not find myself back in that earlier position of scamming, scrabbling, and really crawling at work.
We’ve been fortunate to have really great experiences. We’ve traveled, you know, high and low across the U.S. I’m fortunate now that I can bring my wife back to Ireland, and we can visit my family quite often. I’ve been able to find what makes me happy work-wise, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. In the early stages, it was about making things work to create stability.
Now, after a lot of rapid mental development, both personally and professionally, I have instilled a hyperdrive mentality. If I find something I want to pursue, I want to learn everything about it as quickly as possible to excel. I owe a great level of gratitude to the challenges I’ve faced.
If anything else, all the struggles that went into this journey have taught me that I didn’t have to do it alone, which I’m very grateful for. My wife has been a significant influence on the success that has come from this entire journey, and I take pride in that.
You can’t do it alone. Being an immigrant is hard; it’s not an easy task. Unfortunately, in my case, I think I might be unique in that I didn’t come from something worse to better or better to worse. I think Ireland is limited in its resources for experiences and open-mindedness. My entire journey has been about enlightenment, education, and experiences. I’ve learned a tremendous amount, and I often say to my wife that I 100% would not be the same person I am now if I had spent all that time in Ireland.
I wouldn’t know what I know now; I wouldn’t be as kind or as open-minded as I am. I used to be very quick to disregard things, very short-tempered, and closed-minded about many opinions and thoughts because those topics weren’t openly discussed, and the experiences simply weren’t there. Now, looking back on it all, I feel like I’m a much more enriched human being.
I’ve been in the U.S. for eight years now, and every single one of those years has contributed to my growth. I couldn’t even put a number on the experiential level of that and how far it has brought me as an individual.
I’m grateful because I get to share those experiences with my friends back home. Ireland is still recovering from a lot of issues; the 2008 financial crisis was tough on the entire country, and many families have felt the impact.
Interestingly, the closest friends I have who have sadly experienced loss due to someone taking their life are those who moved across the world to escape this small bubble, this echo chamber of despair and guilt that seeps through your clothes like cigarette smoke. It just sits there; it’s a residue. Unless something lifts you out of it and pushes you forward, or you have that innate ability to escape it, you can get stuck in it like quicksand, and it can really eat away at you.
You need to step outside those bounds and collectively inherit the external positivity that comes from being somewhere else or facing your own struggles in a collective that happens back home. It’s nice having these experiences over the last eight years, not only to reflect on them but also to confront new challenges that come my way.
I feel like I’ve been through so many experiences already that now I’m in a very fortunate position. I know there are several experiences that I will have to go through over the next decade, or even over the next 20 to 40 years, but I’m well-equipped to deal with those emotionally, financially, and from a stability standpoint. I feel that our family, both back home and here, coexists at the same time, which puts us in a unique position that I don’t think can be underestimated in terms of its power.
I believe a lot of people see this when they go abroad. The Irish immigrate globally, but in order for us to survive, we must coexist authentically. Having a broad immigrant community worldwide, regardless of whether you’re Irish, Guatemalan, or Middle Eastern, creates a shared experience. If you find yourself in another country and bump shoulders with someone else who’s also adapting to a new culture, there’s a symbiotic aspect to it where you collectively come together and understand the troubles that can arise, as well as some of the issues.
I’ve had people from Ireland, specifically, reach out to me who’ve migrated to the U.S. They could be in Florida while I’m in L.A., and they’ll contact me on LinkedIn, saying, “Hey man, I see that you’re doing well. I’m so proud and happy to see an Irish person thriving. Here are my issues; I’m going through a problem, can you help?” It doesn’t always have to be someone Irish, but regardless of who it is, there’s always this call to action. You always want to help.
Thank you. That is my immigrant story, reflecting on some of the challenges I’ve faced along the way. Those struggles weren’t for nothing. I believe that immigrants, as a whole, are not just fulfilling their duties; they are contributing significantly to society. I wouldn’t wish the hardships I’ve endured on anyone else.
We are, I think, collectively the most warm and welcoming community possible. It’s something that is often not discussed enough, the warmth and love that immigrants who have gone through tough times can give back. What they offer to other immigrants is tenfold compared to anything they’ve received.
Many times, they may not get the same love and respect while going through their own struggles, leading them to develop a hardened exterior. But inside, they just want to give back to everyone else and try to help. I’ve been fortunate enough to assist other immigrants with visa issues or help them find opportunities and connect with others. I believe that this community possesses a power filled with love and genuine support.
Being in the shoes that I’ve been in, and thankfully seeing more of those shoes come through, I jump at the opportunity. I get elated at the fact that I can help someone else because when you receive a little bit of help at your worst point, it’s like water in a desert. You can’t express how grateful you can be in those experiences, especially as an immigrant. I hope that as time goes on, I’ll be able to give back to other immigrants coming through because this journey has definitely shaped who I am.
Like I said, I couldn’t have planned my life out; I’ve never tried to plan it. I tend to avoid planning even a year in advance because my wife and I are so fluid, moving everywhere and engaging with people in any environment we’re in. It’s important to be kind to everyone around you, not knowing their circumstances.
Being an immigrant, I believe it’s a gift to be able to give back to anyone who is seeking help during hard times. Understanding that there is a massive community of immigrants who are grateful for support is something that is often overlooked. I wish more people could understand that immigrants living abroad are not trying to impose themselves; they are often just trying to fit in and help lift others up.
I couldn’t do it all without giving thanks to my beautiful wife, Polina; my extended family, the Polina’s extended family; and, of course, my own mother and father, Tony and Audrey. I want to acknowledge all the individuals along the way who have helped me on this path to get to where I am. You know, it takes a village at the end of the day. I’m not here solely because of my drive or the various things that have put me in this chair; it’s the kindness of everyone along the way.
The understanding that all it takes is asking for help has been crucial. If you need assistance, don’t hesitate to ask, and everyone has been kind enough to offer their support. This has truly been a stepping stone for me to reach this level. As I mentioned at the beginning, for better or worse, there have been some tough times that have helped me grow. If everything had been good, it wouldn’t have felt worth it. The bad times have made being an immigrant somewhat the best part of the experience, in a weird way.
I don’t think it’s without saying that it takes an army to help fulfill and enrich the entire journey.

So, with that, this is my story.

*The term “Immimentary” is a combination of words “immigrant” and “documentary”.
IMMIMENTARY is a film production company and a series of documentaries that feature interviews with immigrants from all walks of life. Stories told by the immigrants themselves.