Luiz Perez

Luiz Perez arrived on the Gold Coast from Brazil 8 years ago and by his own admission his English was terrible. While Luiz had qualifications in IT and management, along with considerable experience in Brazil his lack of language skills meant that he had to seek out more labour intensive jobs until his language improved.

How he managed to get through his job interviews here without being able to speak English were awkwardly clumsy at best, yet he somehow managed to land numerous jobs to help pay for his study and living expenses.

After getting his English language skills to an acceptable level Luiz enrolled at TAFE to study for a Diploma in Software Development. This then led to entry at Southern Cross University where he studied the same discipline for his Bachelors’ Degree. The teenager who once used to survive without a coin in his pocket by playing guitar on the beach for food in Brazil has come a long way, now working in IT for Feros, a care provider for the aged and disabled in the Gold Coast's community health sector.