Gosia Zimowska went on to Concordia University from MATC and wants to open her own job placement firm.

Fast FORWARD
Gosia Zimowska Living Her Dreams

Polish immigrant and Milwaukee Area Technical College honors graduate Gosia Zimowska scrubbed toilets in her first job in the United States. It was light years away from her vision of life in the land of plenty. But, undaunted, she went on to live the American dream.
 
In 1995, Zimowska left her mother, boyfriend and homeland in search of a better future. She joined her father, whom she had met only once during a summer vacation six years earlier, in Chicago, where she helped him with his janitorial job. (Her mother, a cellist in the Polish Opera Orchestra, had chosen to remain in Poland.)
 
Zimowska explains that many Polish immigrants end up as janitors and cleaning people because of the stereotype that they are good at cleaning, and because minimal English is required for the job. Set on avoiding that trap, she enrolled in English as a Second Language classes at Chicago Community College and quickly passed the TOFEL – Test of English as a Foreign Language.

After six months, Zimowska grew homesick and went back to her native land. However, she decided to return to the U.S. in 1997, knowing that gaining citizenship would be much easier if she were living here before she turned 21. 

Her first trip to this country had shown her that opportunity isn't always plentiful, but success is possible for those willing to work for it. “In Poland, you have to know someone or be one of the chosen ones to get a good job,” Zimowska says. “Talent and hard work aren’t enough to get a dream job in Poland. Here, you can move up pretty quickly if you work hard.”

And work hard she did.  She moved to Milwaukee to live with her brother and to
immerse herself in a culture and in jobs that would force her to use her English language skills. She simultaneously held down two jobs, at the Wyndham Hotel and at Heiser Automotive. In addition, she entered the FORWARD Management program at MATC.

FORWARD Management is aimed at working students. Students take one course every six weeks, year round, leading to an associate degree in management. Zimowska chose the program because she thought it would help her in her quest to become a human resources director, and because class times fit around her work schedules.
 

Enrolling in FORWARD Management brought results even before she graduated, Zimowska says. Halfway through the program, she was offered a job with better pay and benefits as a payroll coordinator at Sigma-Aldrich – an opportunity she says came about in part because people at the company were impressed with her work in the FORWARD Management program.

“The FORWARD program met all my expectations,” Zimowska says. “I had only the best experiences with school. MATC students are a well-rounded, diverse body of students. It’s been nice to meet people of different cultures. I’ve learned a lot."

Zimowska finished her degree in August 2004 and participated in graduation ceremonies the following December. She graduated with honors and also was awarded the Lamp of Knowledge, as the outstanding Mequon Campus student in the FORWARD program. She also was first runner-up to be graduation speaker.

On to Concordia

After graduation, Zimowska transferred all her MATC credits to Concordia University, where she's working toward a bachelor’s degree in human resources. She continues her full-time job at Sigma-Aldrich while taking nine credits at Concordia and a three-credit online class at MATC. Her goal is to become a human resources director and eventually open
her own recruitment firm that would specialize in helping place immigrants in good
jobs.
 
Her hard work has paid off, and at the age of 28 she is living a life so far removed from cleaning restrooms that those days seem unreal. She owns a home and a car – both of which would be considered luxuries in Poland – and two dogs. Zimowska became an American citizen in December. 
 
She is proud of what she has achieved. “I never thought an immigrant student could do so well,” she says. “It’s been a lot of work, but it’s made me much stronger. Slowly but
surely I’m reaching my goals.”

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