On the sidelines of a poultry plant in 2005, a smug supervisor told Charles Rushimisha that he would be aligning chickens on a conveyor belt at minimum wage for the rest of his life. Newly arrived from Rwanda and barely speaking English, the young man took it as a challenge.

Nine years later, in May 2014, he became not only the first in his family to earn a college degree, but the first to earn two degrees – in chemical engineering and chemistry – even graduating magna cum laude.

Charles grew up in Congo and Rwanda, shifting among family members after his parents died in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. When he arrived in the U.S. in 2005 with a student visa and little more than the clothes on his back, he lived in a shelter before connecting with other African emigrants and finding the job that inspired him to become a college graduate.

He started taking courses in Maine, where professors recognized his abilities in math and science and encouraged him to look for engineering schools. He was drawn to URI for the modest size and the weather. “It’s a small enough community to get noticed, but it’s big enough for you to acquire the skills you need,” he said.

Financially, he struggled, but URI’s Talent Development Program, the College of Engineering’s Minority Outreach Office, and other groups matched him with financial aid and on-campus jobs. “You have no idea what this community did for me,” Charles says. “What I got from people here is a gift I am going to cherish forever.”

Now, the winner of the Saint Elmo Brady Award  for Outstanding Achievement in Science heads to graduate school and a career as a petroleum engineer. Ultimately, his big idea will take him back to his homeland to start a business tapping oil from the recently discovered oil fields, which he dreams could reshape a region still recovering from war.

“I love America, I would die for America, but I don’t think America needs me as much as Congo and Rwanda,” Charles says. “Those countries, that’s where there is need.”