Helder Domingoes Interview
Item
Title
Helder Domingoes Interview
Description
Helder Domingos was born on the island of Pico and lived in Angola before coming to the United States. Helder worked in agriculture, graduated from Fresno Sate and attributes his education to his success in the business world. He has continued many cultural traditions and has been instrumental in the Jordan College of Agricultural Science and Technology exchange program with the University of the Azores, the Terceira Island Ag Department.
Creator
Domingoes, Helder
McCoy, Kelley
Relation
Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute
Identifier
SCUAD_pbbi_00013
Date
11-14-2019
extracted text
Helder Domingos: Helder Fernando Domingos.
Kelley McCoy: Were you named after anyone?
Helder Domingos: No. No, just the last name.
Kelley McCoy: When were you born?
Helder Domingos: I was born in 1956.
Kelley McCoy: And where were you born?
Helder Domingos: I was born in the Lajes De Pico
of Azores.
Kelley McCoy: Before coming to the United States your family immigrated
to Angola?
Helder Domingos: Correct.
Kelley McCoy: How old were you?
Helder Domingos: I was seven.
Kelley McCoy: And why did your family leave the Azores?
Helder Domingos: Just to -- my parents were looking for a better way of
life for the family, education for us. That's why we moved. My dad,
he -- had a sister that already lived in Angola, Africa, so it was an
easy transition for us.
Kelley McCoy: So what did your father do when you were there?
Helder Domingos: In Angola? He worked for a newspaper.
Kelley McCoy: As a journalist?
Helder Domingos: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: So you were only seven years old. What was that experience
like for you?
Helder Domingos: It was quite a shock, you know, moving from a small
little town to a much bigger city. And the language was no problems, it's
just the same but -- it was Portuguese -- but just a different life.
Kelley McCoy: So when you say the language was the same, was it easy then
to continue to maintain a strong Portuguese identity when you were in
Angola?
Helder Domingos: Absolutely. Yes, it was.
Kelley McCoy: But you eventually wound up leaving Angola. Did your entire
family leave?
Helder Domingos: Um, it was on the Portuguese move out of Angola. It was
during the civil war, and then things became really bad really for, not
just the Portuguese, but it was civil war, you know. And then my dad made
the decision. We sit down and we had -- he had another sister living in
Hanford, United States, and they'd been talking. And she'd always been
pushing for us to move here. So that was the opportunity that my dad -so they -- we're going to move to the United States. So she sponsored us
to come here. First my dad came and then I followed and then my mother
and my brothers.
Kelley McCoy: And how old were you when you moved to Hanford?
Helder Domingos: Eighteen years. I was 18.
Kelley McCoy: So now tell me what that was like moving to the United
States, to a small town like Hanford from where you were living in
Angola.
Helder Domingos: That was a culture shock. First of all, the only English
I knew was college English you know -- it was my first year of college in
Angola. And then just -- first of all, the weather. I arrived here 19th
January, 1975. It was very cold. It was just then -- the language
barriers. Took me a few weeks - my first few weeks I actually I was hey, I'm going back [laughs]. And then things start changing and I
stayed.
Kelley McCoy: So you moved to Hanford. Your father was a newspaper man in
Africa. What was he doing in Hanford?
Helder Domingos: Well, my dad couldn't speak any English and we pretty
much started doing -- taking jobs that you know, Portuguese immigrants do
or offer to: milking cows, working in dairies, farms, and that's what my
dad -- and it was a big change for him also to you know, start working
the dairy and, you know -- he probably did some of that when he was
really young in the Azores, but he was -- he had to adapt, adapt to that
again.
Kelley McCoy: Do you recall -- did your parents ever talk about life in
the Azores? Did they miss it?
Helder Domingos: No. You know they had -- at the same time they knew,
especially my mom – she was just -- it was just so important to her
to give us children a great education. And she knew that they had to be
out of the Azores for that to happen. She had big dreams for us.
Kelley McCoy: When you moved to Hanford and your father started working
for-dairies, was he hired by Portuguese-Americans, then?
Helder Domingos: Yes. Yes.
Kelley McCoy: And did you work at all on any of these farms yourself?
Helder Domingos: I did [Laughs]. I – I had to work, you know. When I came
to the United States I always tell people I still have $125. That was my
fortune, you know, that I had. So after here for a few days you know with
my dad and my aunts and I go out. I gotta get a job which job was to
offer was this type of, you know work dairies or working part-time in
farms. But right away I realized I have to get education. It's only way
that I can fulfill my dreams, especially in this country. I have to -- I
have to go through education. And so right away, first step was learning
English and then start from there, you know. But I start putting my
dreams together with the ultimate goal is to maybe -- and it was kind of
far away, but I started thinking, wow. It would be great to go to
university, you know, Fresno State or some other university on the West
Coast, you know. So that's how it kind of starts working – working on a
lot of dairies on farms, yeah.
Kelley McCoy: So I imagine early hours.
Helder Domingos: Early hours. Usually I would work part-time on -- the
workers, they had the weekends off. I worked the weekends for them and
allow me time during the week to kind of focus on my education.
Kelley McCoy: So when you say focus on your education, did you have a
year, then, at one of the high schools in Hanford?
Helder Domingos: Yeah, I was. Almost a year. It was like six months in
which to -- I went in to get my -- to start learning English, basic
English and so I can move on in my -- Again, I start doing some research
and research and say, wow, I can go to COS and live in Hanford still just
drive back and forth. Take the bus to COS back then you know? [Laughs].
And then this is when I started taking classes at COS and preparing for
the future, you know? Fresno State to start -- I start doing more
research for Fresno State. What was available education-wise. And I
stayed in COS about two years through this whole process.
Kelley McCoy: So now when you thought of the United States--for example,
when you were in Angola--was there a certain vision that you had about
the kind of country that it was? Because you're talking about how you had
dreams and you wanted to kind of fulfill them. Were there certain images,
visions that you had of the country?
Helder Domingos: Well, yeah. I did a lot of reading when I was young. I - and, yeah, for some reason it was always books about the United States,
you know. And I was always intrigued and we had -- my dad also had two
uncles that, no three, that migrated here in the 1930s and they all
became farmers in this area. So it was always intriguing. For some reason
I always think one day I'm going to make it there. I have family there.
Even then, back when I was in Africa, I was always on my goals to get to.
Kelley McCoy: So you spent two years at COS kind of refining your
English. Did your dreams become more clear in terms of what you wanted to
do?
Helder Domingos: Yeah, it did. I started really thinking about -- I've
always been very techy in a way, so tech world for me was very intriguing
and it was engineering you know. So I start taking my first classes,
my general education at COS and start taking my first classes. And then
to move to Fresno State. And it was going to be, try to get into the
engineering program at Fresno State.
Kelley McCoy: But it didn't turn out that way?
Helder Domingos: No, actually. So I went to a few, you know, seminars
that, you know, at Fresno State and I met this professor, Dr. Newcomb. It
was industrial technology. And I never heard before about, you know,
industrial technology before. So he explained to me the program and then
I changed and I only came to Fresno State. I go, “I'm going to try this
industrial technology. It's more broad. I have more opportunities to work
in manufacturing or electral engineering. I can always go back to
electrical engineering if I need to.” And that's where I graduated from.
Kelley McCoy: So we're going to talk a little bit more kind of about your
trajectory. I mean, your dreams manifested large here with Westech. But
first I want to talk a little bit more about when you were going to
Fresno State. Were you commuting from Hanford?
Helder Domingos: No. I moved to Fresno. I start going to Fresno State.
Kelley McCoy: So were you at this time of your life still speaking
Portuguese a lot?
Helder Domingos: Yeah. Trying to. No, actually trying to speak English as
much I could because, you know, so I could get better at it.
Kelley McCoy: And how about with your parents?
Helder Domingos: At home, still my parents speak Portuguese.
Kelley McCoy: And your siblings.
Helder Domingos: Both English and Portuguese
Kelley McCoy: So how important was it to your parents that you kind
of maintain a strong Portuguese identity?
Helder Domingos: Very important. I would go to church with my mom. And
they were very. They're Catholics. And I'm Catholic. And I've always made
a point to -- my mom and I were very close. She's the one who really push
me for always for education.
Kelley McCoy: Why do you think it was so important to her that you
maintain a strong sense of your cultural heritage?
Helder Domingos: For her-She knew my potential. I guess and she wanted to
make sure that I always have my roots at heart I think, you know.
Kelley McCoy: And what were those roots? Obviously, they were Azores ---
Helder Domingos: Portuguese. [Crosstalk]. Yeah. Azores. Portuguese, you
know, family. And she -- she saw some of this before she passed.
Kelley McCoy: In 1997 you started your own business. Can you describe
what Westech Systems is and why did you want to start it? What was the
motivation?
Helder Domingos: Westech is a electrical contractor. We do actually
engineering and construction. And we have a sister company that I start
probably about 14 years ago. This is a solar division. It was Sol Tek. It
was -- one thing -- I worked a project for Fresno State -- worked for two
companies my entire life. My first full-time job was the [inaudible]
enterprises. And I was so excited that they, you know. Then I worked for
another company and then I start thinking about, you know what, why don't
I take this dream one step further? What if I start something, you know?
I knew that, you know, that success starting a company and getting
through to the first five to 10 years is just, you know, is just -- it is
crazy, I mean just the -- people fail a lot, you know. And but I did
because I didn't want to get to the age I am today and look back and say
“what if?” That “if question” always been one of the things I'll take out
of the equation. If I start, I failed, then I did my best. But that's why
I started and it was start small. My first employee was somebody -- was a
part-time -- was a full-time student at Fresno State. She was a teacher,
being a teacher. And she became -- she became -- she never became a
teacher she always worked for me. Became the office manager and
[chuckles] and now she's back at Fresno State. She worked for the Jordan
College. So, yeah. It's just -- it's been -- 23 years ago.
Kelley McCoy: And you started small.
Helder Domingos: Very small.
Kelley McCoy: And how many employees? And you even
had to relocate to a much larger building?
Helder Domingos: Yeah. Right now we have 220 employees. It's very familyoriented company. That's -- and it comes from me, you know. I really -this is -- that's how I want it. And, yeah, it became quite a company.
Kelley McCoy: So of all that you've accomplished professionally, what are
you most proud of?
Helder Domingos: Start-education. But first of all, became a citizen of
the United States. The day I became -- I get emotions up because that was
the day. It was very special to me to become a citizen of this country.
And graduating. And then, you know, family. I could go. I've been very
blessed in life. Looking back, and to change for nothing. I've been very
blessed.
Kelley McCoy: Do you remember the date that you became a citizen? How old
you were?
Helder Domingos: I was -- it was ’80. That was a year before I graduated.
Kelley McCoy: From Fresno State?
Helder Domingos: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: Speaking of Fresno State, you and your wife, Cindy,
recently helped support the university's partnership with the University
of the Azores. Can you tell us about the exchange program at the heart of
this partnership?
Helder Domingos: It comes a time in our lives that we've been really
successful Cindy and I. And we, with our success. We decide to start
giving back to community. It's just right. I mean -- and we do -- we do
a lot of [inaudible] clubs, to St. Jude, Valley Children. And then I
got approached by someone at Fresno State, Shannon, said they -- we
started this new program with the University of the Azores. And I -- she
didn't ask for much -- I said when? I knew where she was going to
[laughs]. And there was exchange -- exchange student program between the
University of Azores and the Jordan Colle at Fresno State. And we were
the first sponsors and we're still today. Very proud of that program.
Kelley McCoy: Now you, after five decades, right, returned to the Azores
for the first time about a year ago. When was that experience?
Helder Domingos: Well, this summer.
Kelley McCoy: What was that experience like for you?
Helder Domingos: It was unbelievable. Christmas time or -- our family
were together and my brothers, my two brothers, and my sisters, and their
wives. And I said, “OK, this is my gift to you, to the whole family this
year.”
Kelley McCoy: So do you plan to go back more often [chuckles]?
Helder Domingos: Yeah. [Laughs]. But it was quite an experience. Living
there. Still a lot of family living there. Cousins. And it was -- it was
very touching.
Kelley McCoy: And you and Cindy have three children of your own.
Helder Domingos: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: And a one-year old granddaughter. So how important is it to
you that your children and your grandchild have a sense of their
Portuguese identity?
Helder Domingos: They know. They're second generation. So they just -they know their roots, you know. But it’s important, especially our baby,
our grandchild. She's going to go back next year with us. First trip.
Kelley McCoy: Is there -- Did your children - - did you teach your
children the language? Did they go to Festas?
Helder Domingos: They go, but you know its like. Second generation is
very hard to keep the language because it's just – especially Portuguese.
Spanish, Portuguese, you have to speak it all the time. They know words
here and there, but they –
Kelley McCoy: Helder, to what extent do you believe that being
Portuguese-American has shaped the way that you move through the world
both personally as well as professionally?
Helder Domingos: I'm an American citizen as I said, of course, but you
know, still I always say I'm both, but this is my adopted land and here
gave me the opportunities. But I still -- my roots are Portuguese, you
know from -- the foods of course, you know to the people. I have so many
friends, Portuguese friends and now we are re-connecting or- especially
through Fresno State with Portuguese council these -- it all looks like
everybody's trying to go back, you know, and reconnect to their roots,
even third generation, you know. And this is so exciting, you know, just
to talk about it with all their experiences. It's very touching, yeah.
Kelley McCoy: What do you think that's all about? What's the appeal?
Helder Domingos: I don't know. It's just -- the Azores became -- you
know, it's just a place you can go and not just reconnect, but it's a
great, a great land, you know. The people, the food. It just – it feels
safe. You know. it's just –Kelley McCoy: So in the end if you had to summarize it, what does being
Portuguese-American mean to you?
Helder Domingos: I couldn't change it for the world. I mean I have the
best of both worlds, you know. I was born Portuguese, which is great -feels great being Portuguese, and here I am I'm American. I'm a citizen
of this great country, you know.
Kelley McCoy: Is there anything that we didn't to you'd like to share,
talk about?
Helder Domingos: No. Just we've been -- like I said before, we've
been really blessed as a family and it's. We feel really fortunate, I
mean being in a position to -- and that's what we do now, help others,
you know, maybe getting a little push, you know. Because I didn't have
that much and I knew it would have been important, you know, for me if I
had that. It was a little hard for me to get here but, if I can help
somebody to get to the next level, definitely, you know? Yeah.
Kelley McCoy: [Inaudible]
Helder Domingos: I got a quote that I read some time ago and I tried
always to live by this -- and that was actually Winston Churchill. And I
got this from the Fresno State library when I was a student there. I'll
never forget this. He said, “You live by what you get. And you make
a living by what you give.” And I think that's very, very important. And
that -- those are words just meant so much to me and that's why I live by
it, you know.
Candace Egan: I want to go back to your trip last summer.
Helder Domingos: Uh-huh.
Candace Egan: And I want to hear more about what stood out to you, what
was meaningful, what touched your heart. Because you more or less said
you went, it was great. But tell me more about how that affected you?
Helder Domingos: The people, the people, people, they're very close. You
know? They're very small islands so- everybody knows everybody, so and
especially in our village, people remember us my parents especially, and
that was what touched me the most. People- still come, came and just
hugged us like just saw us yesterday, you know? It was just that bonding
this lady came to me and goes, "Your mother was my godmother." and I
said, "I didn't know" but there was that connection and it was very, very
special, you know it was like. I felt when we landed, was talking to my
wife Cindy I think it was after the first day. I go "I feel home. I'm
home." Just the connection, yeah
Candace Egan: How does that contribute, because you're not the first
person we've met whose goes back now and you said earlier off camera
about [inaudible] that you're going back so talk a little bit about
because you're one of several who this draw to now keep going back and
remember now look at Kelley.
Helder Domingos: I think it's the roots, you know, it's just the roots
they are there for me, I've been disconnected from that for such a long
time. Going first to Angola, Africa then to United States and now going
back it's just. That's-That re-connection, it just touches you sooo, you
know? It's just there's something there I can't put into words but it was
there. It's just I'm coming back. And-that's why a lot of us- after the
first trip or second trip and even, I got friends going back and bought
homes there. Vacation homes. It's just two and they go the first year,
they go again the second year they go-[inaudible] at Fresno State she
worked for the Jordan College, she told me the same thing. She was the
one who kind of pushed me to go. The first time this year she goes, "You
gotta go [inaudible] because I know the connection as soon as you get
there--you'll feel it." And I did. It was very special. Yeah.
Candace Egan: Thank you.
Kelley McCoy: Thank you (in unison).
Kelley McCoy: Were you named after anyone?
Helder Domingos: No. No, just the last name.
Kelley McCoy: When were you born?
Helder Domingos: I was born in 1956.
Kelley McCoy: And where were you born?
Helder Domingos: I was born in the Lajes De Pico
of Azores.
Kelley McCoy: Before coming to the United States your family immigrated
to Angola?
Helder Domingos: Correct.
Kelley McCoy: How old were you?
Helder Domingos: I was seven.
Kelley McCoy: And why did your family leave the Azores?
Helder Domingos: Just to -- my parents were looking for a better way of
life for the family, education for us. That's why we moved. My dad,
he -- had a sister that already lived in Angola, Africa, so it was an
easy transition for us.
Kelley McCoy: So what did your father do when you were there?
Helder Domingos: In Angola? He worked for a newspaper.
Kelley McCoy: As a journalist?
Helder Domingos: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: So you were only seven years old. What was that experience
like for you?
Helder Domingos: It was quite a shock, you know, moving from a small
little town to a much bigger city. And the language was no problems, it's
just the same but -- it was Portuguese -- but just a different life.
Kelley McCoy: So when you say the language was the same, was it easy then
to continue to maintain a strong Portuguese identity when you were in
Angola?
Helder Domingos: Absolutely. Yes, it was.
Kelley McCoy: But you eventually wound up leaving Angola. Did your entire
family leave?
Helder Domingos: Um, it was on the Portuguese move out of Angola. It was
during the civil war, and then things became really bad really for, not
just the Portuguese, but it was civil war, you know. And then my dad made
the decision. We sit down and we had -- he had another sister living in
Hanford, United States, and they'd been talking. And she'd always been
pushing for us to move here. So that was the opportunity that my dad -so they -- we're going to move to the United States. So she sponsored us
to come here. First my dad came and then I followed and then my mother
and my brothers.
Kelley McCoy: And how old were you when you moved to Hanford?
Helder Domingos: Eighteen years. I was 18.
Kelley McCoy: So now tell me what that was like moving to the United
States, to a small town like Hanford from where you were living in
Angola.
Helder Domingos: That was a culture shock. First of all, the only English
I knew was college English you know -- it was my first year of college in
Angola. And then just -- first of all, the weather. I arrived here 19th
January, 1975. It was very cold. It was just then -- the language
barriers. Took me a few weeks - my first few weeks I actually I was hey, I'm going back [laughs]. And then things start changing and I
stayed.
Kelley McCoy: So you moved to Hanford. Your father was a newspaper man in
Africa. What was he doing in Hanford?
Helder Domingos: Well, my dad couldn't speak any English and we pretty
much started doing -- taking jobs that you know, Portuguese immigrants do
or offer to: milking cows, working in dairies, farms, and that's what my
dad -- and it was a big change for him also to you know, start working
the dairy and, you know -- he probably did some of that when he was
really young in the Azores, but he was -- he had to adapt, adapt to that
again.
Kelley McCoy: Do you recall -- did your parents ever talk about life in
the Azores? Did they miss it?
Helder Domingos: No. You know they had -- at the same time they knew,
especially my mom – she was just -- it was just so important to her
to give us children a great education. And she knew that they had to be
out of the Azores for that to happen. She had big dreams for us.
Kelley McCoy: When you moved to Hanford and your father started working
for-dairies, was he hired by Portuguese-Americans, then?
Helder Domingos: Yes. Yes.
Kelley McCoy: And did you work at all on any of these farms yourself?
Helder Domingos: I did [Laughs]. I – I had to work, you know. When I came
to the United States I always tell people I still have $125. That was my
fortune, you know, that I had. So after here for a few days you know with
my dad and my aunts and I go out. I gotta get a job which job was to
offer was this type of, you know work dairies or working part-time in
farms. But right away I realized I have to get education. It's only way
that I can fulfill my dreams, especially in this country. I have to -- I
have to go through education. And so right away, first step was learning
English and then start from there, you know. But I start putting my
dreams together with the ultimate goal is to maybe -- and it was kind of
far away, but I started thinking, wow. It would be great to go to
university, you know, Fresno State or some other university on the West
Coast, you know. So that's how it kind of starts working – working on a
lot of dairies on farms, yeah.
Kelley McCoy: So I imagine early hours.
Helder Domingos: Early hours. Usually I would work part-time on -- the
workers, they had the weekends off. I worked the weekends for them and
allow me time during the week to kind of focus on my education.
Kelley McCoy: So when you say focus on your education, did you have a
year, then, at one of the high schools in Hanford?
Helder Domingos: Yeah, I was. Almost a year. It was like six months in
which to -- I went in to get my -- to start learning English, basic
English and so I can move on in my -- Again, I start doing some research
and research and say, wow, I can go to COS and live in Hanford still just
drive back and forth. Take the bus to COS back then you know? [Laughs].
And then this is when I started taking classes at COS and preparing for
the future, you know? Fresno State to start -- I start doing more
research for Fresno State. What was available education-wise. And I
stayed in COS about two years through this whole process.
Kelley McCoy: So now when you thought of the United States--for example,
when you were in Angola--was there a certain vision that you had about
the kind of country that it was? Because you're talking about how you had
dreams and you wanted to kind of fulfill them. Were there certain images,
visions that you had of the country?
Helder Domingos: Well, yeah. I did a lot of reading when I was young. I - and, yeah, for some reason it was always books about the United States,
you know. And I was always intrigued and we had -- my dad also had two
uncles that, no three, that migrated here in the 1930s and they all
became farmers in this area. So it was always intriguing. For some reason
I always think one day I'm going to make it there. I have family there.
Even then, back when I was in Africa, I was always on my goals to get to.
Kelley McCoy: So you spent two years at COS kind of refining your
English. Did your dreams become more clear in terms of what you wanted to
do?
Helder Domingos: Yeah, it did. I started really thinking about -- I've
always been very techy in a way, so tech world for me was very intriguing
and it was engineering you know. So I start taking my first classes,
my general education at COS and start taking my first classes. And then
to move to Fresno State. And it was going to be, try to get into the
engineering program at Fresno State.
Kelley McCoy: But it didn't turn out that way?
Helder Domingos: No, actually. So I went to a few, you know, seminars
that, you know, at Fresno State and I met this professor, Dr. Newcomb. It
was industrial technology. And I never heard before about, you know,
industrial technology before. So he explained to me the program and then
I changed and I only came to Fresno State. I go, “I'm going to try this
industrial technology. It's more broad. I have more opportunities to work
in manufacturing or electral engineering. I can always go back to
electrical engineering if I need to.” And that's where I graduated from.
Kelley McCoy: So we're going to talk a little bit more kind of about your
trajectory. I mean, your dreams manifested large here with Westech. But
first I want to talk a little bit more about when you were going to
Fresno State. Were you commuting from Hanford?
Helder Domingos: No. I moved to Fresno. I start going to Fresno State.
Kelley McCoy: So were you at this time of your life still speaking
Portuguese a lot?
Helder Domingos: Yeah. Trying to. No, actually trying to speak English as
much I could because, you know, so I could get better at it.
Kelley McCoy: And how about with your parents?
Helder Domingos: At home, still my parents speak Portuguese.
Kelley McCoy: And your siblings.
Helder Domingos: Both English and Portuguese
Kelley McCoy: So how important was it to your parents that you kind
of maintain a strong Portuguese identity?
Helder Domingos: Very important. I would go to church with my mom. And
they were very. They're Catholics. And I'm Catholic. And I've always made
a point to -- my mom and I were very close. She's the one who really push
me for always for education.
Kelley McCoy: Why do you think it was so important to her that you
maintain a strong sense of your cultural heritage?
Helder Domingos: For her-She knew my potential. I guess and she wanted to
make sure that I always have my roots at heart I think, you know.
Kelley McCoy: And what were those roots? Obviously, they were Azores ---
Helder Domingos: Portuguese. [Crosstalk]. Yeah. Azores. Portuguese, you
know, family. And she -- she saw some of this before she passed.
Kelley McCoy: In 1997 you started your own business. Can you describe
what Westech Systems is and why did you want to start it? What was the
motivation?
Helder Domingos: Westech is a electrical contractor. We do actually
engineering and construction. And we have a sister company that I start
probably about 14 years ago. This is a solar division. It was Sol Tek. It
was -- one thing -- I worked a project for Fresno State -- worked for two
companies my entire life. My first full-time job was the [inaudible]
enterprises. And I was so excited that they, you know. Then I worked for
another company and then I start thinking about, you know what, why don't
I take this dream one step further? What if I start something, you know?
I knew that, you know, that success starting a company and getting
through to the first five to 10 years is just, you know, is just -- it is
crazy, I mean just the -- people fail a lot, you know. And but I did
because I didn't want to get to the age I am today and look back and say
“what if?” That “if question” always been one of the things I'll take out
of the equation. If I start, I failed, then I did my best. But that's why
I started and it was start small. My first employee was somebody -- was a
part-time -- was a full-time student at Fresno State. She was a teacher,
being a teacher. And she became -- she became -- she never became a
teacher she always worked for me. Became the office manager and
[chuckles] and now she's back at Fresno State. She worked for the Jordan
College. So, yeah. It's just -- it's been -- 23 years ago.
Kelley McCoy: And you started small.
Helder Domingos: Very small.
Kelley McCoy: And how many employees? And you even
had to relocate to a much larger building?
Helder Domingos: Yeah. Right now we have 220 employees. It's very familyoriented company. That's -- and it comes from me, you know. I really -this is -- that's how I want it. And, yeah, it became quite a company.
Kelley McCoy: So of all that you've accomplished professionally, what are
you most proud of?
Helder Domingos: Start-education. But first of all, became a citizen of
the United States. The day I became -- I get emotions up because that was
the day. It was very special to me to become a citizen of this country.
And graduating. And then, you know, family. I could go. I've been very
blessed in life. Looking back, and to change for nothing. I've been very
blessed.
Kelley McCoy: Do you remember the date that you became a citizen? How old
you were?
Helder Domingos: I was -- it was ’80. That was a year before I graduated.
Kelley McCoy: From Fresno State?
Helder Domingos: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: Speaking of Fresno State, you and your wife, Cindy,
recently helped support the university's partnership with the University
of the Azores. Can you tell us about the exchange program at the heart of
this partnership?
Helder Domingos: It comes a time in our lives that we've been really
successful Cindy and I. And we, with our success. We decide to start
giving back to community. It's just right. I mean -- and we do -- we do
a lot of [inaudible] clubs, to St. Jude, Valley Children. And then I
got approached by someone at Fresno State, Shannon, said they -- we
started this new program with the University of the Azores. And I -- she
didn't ask for much -- I said when? I knew where she was going to
[laughs]. And there was exchange -- exchange student program between the
University of Azores and the Jordan Colle at Fresno State. And we were
the first sponsors and we're still today. Very proud of that program.
Kelley McCoy: Now you, after five decades, right, returned to the Azores
for the first time about a year ago. When was that experience?
Helder Domingos: Well, this summer.
Kelley McCoy: What was that experience like for you?
Helder Domingos: It was unbelievable. Christmas time or -- our family
were together and my brothers, my two brothers, and my sisters, and their
wives. And I said, “OK, this is my gift to you, to the whole family this
year.”
Kelley McCoy: So do you plan to go back more often [chuckles]?
Helder Domingos: Yeah. [Laughs]. But it was quite an experience. Living
there. Still a lot of family living there. Cousins. And it was -- it was
very touching.
Kelley McCoy: And you and Cindy have three children of your own.
Helder Domingos: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: And a one-year old granddaughter. So how important is it to
you that your children and your grandchild have a sense of their
Portuguese identity?
Helder Domingos: They know. They're second generation. So they just -they know their roots, you know. But it’s important, especially our baby,
our grandchild. She's going to go back next year with us. First trip.
Kelley McCoy: Is there -- Did your children - - did you teach your
children the language? Did they go to Festas?
Helder Domingos: They go, but you know its like. Second generation is
very hard to keep the language because it's just – especially Portuguese.
Spanish, Portuguese, you have to speak it all the time. They know words
here and there, but they –
Kelley McCoy: Helder, to what extent do you believe that being
Portuguese-American has shaped the way that you move through the world
both personally as well as professionally?
Helder Domingos: I'm an American citizen as I said, of course, but you
know, still I always say I'm both, but this is my adopted land and here
gave me the opportunities. But I still -- my roots are Portuguese, you
know from -- the foods of course, you know to the people. I have so many
friends, Portuguese friends and now we are re-connecting or- especially
through Fresno State with Portuguese council these -- it all looks like
everybody's trying to go back, you know, and reconnect to their roots,
even third generation, you know. And this is so exciting, you know, just
to talk about it with all their experiences. It's very touching, yeah.
Kelley McCoy: What do you think that's all about? What's the appeal?
Helder Domingos: I don't know. It's just -- the Azores became -- you
know, it's just a place you can go and not just reconnect, but it's a
great, a great land, you know. The people, the food. It just – it feels
safe. You know. it's just –Kelley McCoy: So in the end if you had to summarize it, what does being
Portuguese-American mean to you?
Helder Domingos: I couldn't change it for the world. I mean I have the
best of both worlds, you know. I was born Portuguese, which is great -feels great being Portuguese, and here I am I'm American. I'm a citizen
of this great country, you know.
Kelley McCoy: Is there anything that we didn't to you'd like to share,
talk about?
Helder Domingos: No. Just we've been -- like I said before, we've
been really blessed as a family and it's. We feel really fortunate, I
mean being in a position to -- and that's what we do now, help others,
you know, maybe getting a little push, you know. Because I didn't have
that much and I knew it would have been important, you know, for me if I
had that. It was a little hard for me to get here but, if I can help
somebody to get to the next level, definitely, you know? Yeah.
Kelley McCoy: [Inaudible]
Helder Domingos: I got a quote that I read some time ago and I tried
always to live by this -- and that was actually Winston Churchill. And I
got this from the Fresno State library when I was a student there. I'll
never forget this. He said, “You live by what you get. And you make
a living by what you give.” And I think that's very, very important. And
that -- those are words just meant so much to me and that's why I live by
it, you know.
Candace Egan: I want to go back to your trip last summer.
Helder Domingos: Uh-huh.
Candace Egan: And I want to hear more about what stood out to you, what
was meaningful, what touched your heart. Because you more or less said
you went, it was great. But tell me more about how that affected you?
Helder Domingos: The people, the people, people, they're very close. You
know? They're very small islands so- everybody knows everybody, so and
especially in our village, people remember us my parents especially, and
that was what touched me the most. People- still come, came and just
hugged us like just saw us yesterday, you know? It was just that bonding
this lady came to me and goes, "Your mother was my godmother." and I
said, "I didn't know" but there was that connection and it was very, very
special, you know it was like. I felt when we landed, was talking to my
wife Cindy I think it was after the first day. I go "I feel home. I'm
home." Just the connection, yeah
Candace Egan: How does that contribute, because you're not the first
person we've met whose goes back now and you said earlier off camera
about [inaudible] that you're going back so talk a little bit about
because you're one of several who this draw to now keep going back and
remember now look at Kelley.
Helder Domingos: I think it's the roots, you know, it's just the roots
they are there for me, I've been disconnected from that for such a long
time. Going first to Angola, Africa then to United States and now going
back it's just. That's-That re-connection, it just touches you sooo, you
know? It's just there's something there I can't put into words but it was
there. It's just I'm coming back. And-that's why a lot of us- after the
first trip or second trip and even, I got friends going back and bought
homes there. Vacation homes. It's just two and they go the first year,
they go again the second year they go-[inaudible] at Fresno State she
worked for the Jordan College, she told me the same thing. She was the
one who kind of pushed me to go. The first time this year she goes, "You
gotta go [inaudible] because I know the connection as soon as you get
there--you'll feel it." And I did. It was very special. Yeah.
Candace Egan: Thank you.
Kelley McCoy: Thank you (in unison).