We Would be Lost Without Him

KEARNEY, Neb. – JaeRam Lee knows very clearly what it feels like to be lost in a foreign land.? Lost, and then, found.? The immigrant from South Korea has experienced the challenges and opportunities that one must undertake to be a permanent resident of the United States.??

“My parents, KwangHee (father) and KyeongRan (mother), encouraged me very much to come to this country.? I did not like the idea of coming here.? I had family and friends back home in South Korea.? I can say now that although I felt forced by my parents to come here by myself when I was 17, it has been a very good thing,” Lee said about his journey to the U.S. that began in 2005.?

Lee is currently serving as the Research and Development Technical Supervisor for Ward Laboratories, Inc. based out of Kearney, Neb.? Nikki Kuhr, Lab Manager said, “We would be lost without him.” The Ward Laboratories extended family of employees agree with Kuhr’s sentiments.???

The story of how Lee arrived at his professional career is a remarkable one, “I spent a year in Orange County, California as a foreign exchange student at Tustin High School and I was fortunate enough to have a really good host family.? Not only did I learn a lot of English skills, but I also was able to travel to the majority of the National Parks in the U.S. during this time because they owned a really nice motor home and loved to travel.”

“I really enjoyed the experience as an exchange student. I wanted to not only stay longer in the United States, but also wanted to study more and possibly graduate from a U.S. high school. But I wasn’t able to attend public school as a foreigner. So, I had to find private schools in order to attend and finish high school in the U.S. We started looking for private schools that offered room and board and we contacted an agency specializing in studying abroad.? They gave us three options and it came down to one school – Nebraska Christian Schools in Central City,” he explained.

“I graduated and then thought to myself, ‘Now what?? Do I go back home or apply for college in the states?’” He said, looking back.? “I applied to several schools and the University of Nebraska – Lincoln offered a scholarship.? I was also eligible for in-state tuition because I had graduated from a high school in Nebraska.”

When Lee was a sophomore in college, he had to return to South Korea because they have a mandatory military service requirement, “I was a helicopter mechanic and did that for two-and-a-half years and then came back and finished college with a degree in biochemistry and minors in math and chemistry.”

In order to legally stay in the U.S., Lee needed to maintain his Visa status.? When college ended, his status as a student would end as well.? At this point, he needed to extend his Visa at graduate school or change to a work permit status.?

“Back in college, I originally wanted to be a dentist.? I had my pre-dentistry requisites done and then during my senior year it became overwhelming,” he admitted.?

Lee grappled with going on for another four years of schooling, residency, and internships, “I started to doubt myself and was not sure I wanted to invest more time and money in that unforeseen future.”

This is when Lee applied for an OPT (Optional Practical Training) Program that allows foreign students who graduate from college a year of experience working in the U.S.? Once in the program, Lee had 90 days to find a job, “If I didn’t, I would be sent back home.”?

Lee was prepared to work diligently to find a job, but there was also the challenge of finding a place to live.? His college housing was done, and it was difficult to find a rental contract for less than a year, “That’s when I contacted a high school friend who lives near Aurora, Neb. and asked if I could crash at his place and help him farm.? The Hunefeld family accepted me as their family member and went through the best and worst times of my life with me and supported me unconditionally.? They are organic farmers, and I also learned a lot about the farm with them too.”?

Lee spent three months with the Hunefeld’s, “I was in an area though where my job options were limited.? I applied to several places in the surrounding area and then was lucky enough to get two interviews.”

One of those interviews led to a position at a veterinary pharmaceutical company in Grand Island, Neb., “I was very happy.? Now I had one year for sure to work in the U.S. instead of having to go home.? I was a quality control technician for the business.”

Work life was positive, and Lee was thoroughly enjoying the opportunities that were opening up for him.? Still, there was always a cloud of anticipation over him because his work Visa was going to expire in a year, “I was hesitant.? I thought maybe I should go back to school or go back home.? But I found the courage to ask my employer if there was any way they might be willing to sponsor my work Visa.”

The business sponsored a two-year extension on the work Visa and even extended it another three years after that, “I always wondered how long I would be able to stay in the U.S. though.? That is when I asked them if they could help sponsor my permanent residency.? Instead of renewing the work Visa every year, that meant the employer is helping the employee stay.? They are ultimately saying, ‘This employee is a good asset to the company and is a good enough, and a skillful enough worker that we will put our company name behind him to sponsor him.’”

“Ultimately I wanted to stay in the states without having to renew my status every other year and even renewing wasn’t guaranteed granted,” he explained. “I was always in fear of the unforeseen future and the ‘what if’ scenario I was living in.”

Lee said you can get permanent residency with sponsorship from an employer, and it used to be you also could if you joined the U.S. Army (but that has since changed), “You can also get it by marrying a U.S. citizen. Not only was I mentally and financially unprepared to get married, I also didn’t think it was fair to bring someone into my life, buy a home, and start a family to have them go through the same thing I was going through with the unknowns in the future. Finding someone to marry at that point was not an option for me and it was probably going to be really hard to find someone who would like to be with me given my circumstances, anyways.”

His employer started going through the process of helping Lee with the permanent residency; however, it was far more difficult than they thought and, “From a business standpoint, they made the difficult decision to not continue the process.? I was very disappointed.? But I understand they did what they thought was best for their business.”

The taxpaying, hardworking, responsible employee, continued to work for the company and once again the storm clouds gathered in his mind, “‘Now what?’ became something I asked myself often.? I was feeling very depressed and extreme anxiety and pressure.? I had about six months left at that point on my Visa.? My co-workers, who had no power to help, were so bummed out and told me they couldn’t believe what was happening.? That support meant more than anything.”

“I didn’t lose hope,” he went on.? “I thought, just maybe someone else would hire me.? With six months left, I knew I didn’t have many options.? Everywhere I applied online had it written in fine print, ‘Do you require a Visa sponsorship?’ That was hard because I knew they were sorting me out before I even got a chance to be interviewed.”

With a month left on the Visa, reality was hitting fast, “Who else was going to take me on?? Time was ticking along, and, in my head, I began to feel this anger and betrayal.? I wanted to be a professional and do what was right.” Facing the hard fact that he may have to sell everything and move back to South Korea, Lee started looking for jobs back in his homeland, “It was COVID during that time so online interviewing was a thing.? I applied at a couple prestigious pharmaceutical companies in South Korea and my six years of working in the U.S. did pay off and I was able to get several interviews.”

Lee relayed that South Korea is a very small country and jobs are very competitive to come by, “I had an interview and then a second interview with a lab manager there and after that the president, vice-president, and executives of the company interviewed me.? This was all very eye-opening because the typical U.S. hiring process was not this way as much.? I even had to be on an A.I. (artificial intelligence) monitored webcam so they could detect my emotions while I was taking tests.? I was like, ‘I get you are trying to find the best people, but like really? Is this what the world has come to?’”?

The fear of being jobless, a failure, and the unknown began to weigh heavily on Lee, “Then I got an unexpected text message from Jordan Westengaard, (quality assurance and control manager at Ward Laboratories).? Jordan had been my supervisor at the first veterinary pharmaceutical company.? He randomly asked me to go to lunch.? He actually felt a bit guilty because he was looking to hire me away from the other company.? He had no idea I was going to be done there and was looking for a new opportunity.”

Lee started telling Westengaard the story on a Friday and on Saturday, after speaking to Ryan Dennhardt – the human resources/business manager for Ward Laboratories, Westengaard said they thought they had a place for him, “I just didn’t see how they could sponsor my permanent residency in less than a month.? I was willing to go to work the next day if I had to, but I didn’t believe it at first. I couldn’t believe it after all I had been through. I was scared of starting over again and getting let down again. I had a lot of doubts since the company where I worked loyally for six years didn’t want to sponsor me, then who would?? Especially when I hadn’t shown Ward Laboratories anything or proven anything yet. Everything was hard to believe and too good to be true.”

“But I also thought, ‘Maybe this is God’s calling.’? I didn’t give up hope,” he added confidently.?

Lee contacted his immigration lawyer and told him he had a potential business to sponsor his permanent residency, “I asked him if this was even possible in a month’s time.? He told me there was no way in that short amount of time.? He gave me the option of going back home and starting the process all over.”

Soon after he was hired by Ward Laboratories, the time left on Lee’s Visa expired. Lee was no longer able to work legally in the U.S. However, Ward laboratories kept their promise and worked with him on the process and waited patiently, “I got a loan to pay for my rent and worked until my permanent residency papers were completed.? It ended up taking 23 weeks. I was able to survive though with so much generous help.”

Lee was very private about his situation. Still, members of his congregation at Destiny Church in Grand Island caught wind of his challenges and offered to make sure he had money for the necessities.? His car also broke down during that time, and a friend at Ward Laboratories who lived in Cairo, (not far from Grand Island), picked him up and brought him to work every day.? Dr. Nick Ward – president of Ward Laboratories and his grandfather, Dr. Ray Ward – who started the business with the late Jolene Ward in the 1980s, found this out and allowed Lee to use the company car. ?

“I am so grateful.? Ward Laboratories became my family.? In return, I wanted to treat them like family. I want to return the love I received from them,” he said, brimming with gratitude.?

“Ward Labs is more than a workplace for me,” he reiterated. “I love it here.? Now I don’t have to have that fear of wondering what I am going to do after a year or two years.? I have a future now. I can maybe get married and have a family.? I am so happy.? Planning a future was so hard in the other scenario. Ward Labs not only provided me with a good job, but they also helped dispel my fears, anxieties, and worries about my future.? Now I will do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

Lee is up for the job too.? Today, as a supervisor, he has his eyes out everywhere for inefficiencies, “I find out what the bottlenecks are and what we can do to make the process faster and better.”

Experiencing the “bottlenecks” firsthand in the U.S. immigration system, Lee was more than prepared to work hard and diligently in his role to help make lab systems even better.? His helicopter mechanic experience also helped develop some of the skills he needed to work on highly technical equipment in the lab, “If anything is holding back the lab’s efficiency, I jump right in and start fixing things.? If it’s a new instrument, I come up with a method that ensures that instrument can help maximize efficiencies as well.”

Today, Lee looks very forward to seeing the parents who encouraged their nervous son to head to the U.S. for new opportunities, “They knew what was best for me.? It is my goal to see them every two years once I save up enough vacation time.? They will either visit me or I will visit them.? I have not seen my family face-to-face since 2018.? I hope to see them in 2024.? They will be happy, and I will be very happy.”?

Ward Laboratories is very happy too. Lee truly cannot thank them enough, “Jordan Westengaard was such a good messenger in this.? Without him, and my Ward Laboratories family, I probably would not be here.”?

Copyright? 2023 All Rights Reserved, Kerry Hoffschneider

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