Admitted to the United States under a special congressional act for people escaping former communist countries, his parents left behind careers, relatives and the life they had built. His father, once a lawyer in Havana, found work sweeping floors at a large pharmaceutical company. His mother, who had never worked outside the home, began her first job in the same industry. 

The family’s strong ties to the First Presbyterian Church of New Vernon, New Jersey, where several of Carlos’s relatives were ministers, helped them find support and resettle in New Jersey, but life was difficult in those early years. 

“We arrived with what we were wearing,” he shared, “That’s all that we were permitted to take.”

A short time later, Illinois College extended Carlos both admission and significant financial aid. That act of generosity opened the door to a life-changing education. For a young man who had arrived in America with almost nothing, the welcome he found in Jacksonville meant everything.

“You have to understand, we landed here with a lot of worries and then a short time later, I was going off to college,” he said. “It was such a privilege. It’s a privilege now and was an even bigger privilege then. That could only happen through generosity, which I will never forget.”

Carlos recalls the extraordinary kindness of his professors, who gave not only their knowledge but their time and personal attention. He fondly remembers a cold day in late November when he was walking across campus and passed Dr. Ernest Hildner, the chair of the history department at the time.

The two students asked Hildner to settle a debate they were having about historical facts, and Hilner, no doubt on his way home after a full day of work, took the opportunity as a teachable moment to share with the young scholars.

“The generosity of this man at the end of his work day stuck with me. That he would take a half hour out of his day in the cold unpleasant weather outside to settle an argument between two college kids… wow,” he says of the small but meaningful moment.

While Carlos only attended IC for two years, the experience was transformative. He describes his time on the Hilltop as his “go-find- America” moment, an opportunity to discover a culture and community far from the world he had known. “I was very well accepted,” he recalls, “I had a very good two years, two very important years for me.”

Decades later, Carlos chose to honor both his parents and Illinois College by establishing an endowed scholarship in their names. His gift ensures that students with financial need will continue to experience the same generosity that changed the course of his life.

“I needed to repay the generosity that this school had shown me in the time that I was there, and I was blessed with generous parents who made a great effort for me to go to college. I wanted to honor them at the same time,” he says.

Carlos’s story is a powerful reminder of how generosity ripples forward. The investment that once helped a refugee student find his place in America is now opening doors for new generations of Illinois College students, ensuring that opportunity and belonging remain at the heart of the Hilltop.