Fernando Espuelas - Childhood

Childhood

In Life in Action, Espuelas writes about studying at the Elbio Fernández school, a prestigious private school in Montevideo. Espuelas' family in Uruguay was financially secure until his father, a real estate entrepreneur, abandoned them when he was 8 years old.

Seeking to survive at a time when Uruguay experienced acute political and economic crisis, Espuelas and his mother immigrated to the United States in 1976 with only $100. After a series of factory jobs making everything from dresses to ice cream sandwiches, his mother found work as a housekeeper in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Espuelas said to The Industry Standard, "As a kid I had to leave my home country, Uruguay, when my parents got divorced and my mother couldn't support herself. We lost everything overnight, so we came to the United States. For 10 years we lived in a one-bedroom apartment, and my mother worked 12 hours a day. It is not that these types of experiences make you a better person, but they give you a different perspective on failure. I've seen people older than I go into panic mode and lose confidence in themselves because of tough market conditions, thinking that it's the end of the world. Personally, I always know I'll be able to survive."

As he recounted on PBS' Tavis Smiley show, Espuelas started his first business in Greenwich while in the fifth grade, when he convinced his friends to invest in a kids' bank and insurance company. The next year, he founded the first student government in North Street School and was elected President of his class. He later began the school's newspaper, serving as editor-in-chief.

According to the Latino Leaders article "Making a comeback: the Fernando Espuelas Story ", "Espuelas had to become the man of the house, while his mother got a job as a housekeeper in wealthy Greenwich, Connecticut."

"It was quite difficult to have all that responsibility at first. We were one of the only Latin families growing up. It was very interesting to be in that environment; it was such a complete departure from our lives in Uruguay. Essentially, we were in a place where people didn't want you, and didn't understand what you were about", he said. And though Espuelas did not speak any English, "growing up like that provided a tremendous incentive for me to learn. "

"Because they were desperate for money, a still-enterprising Espuelas started a bank and an insurance company--his first US business, at the ripe old age of ten. "I managed to convince some of my wealthy sixth grade friends to invest. It was a very simple business though: we were just able to give money to kids who needed to borrow it. It was successful, and I was very proud of that. "

Espuelas attended Greenwich High School, graduating in 1984. At Greenwich High, Espuelas was the President of the Debate Team, the Connecticut State Champion debater in 1982, and the Chairman of the Political Action Club. Espuelas hosted the local Public-access television cable TV show "The Bottom Line with Fernando Espuelas", interviewing Greenwich personalities.

Espuelas worked in a series of jobs while going to junior high and high school: gardener, gas station attendant, Woolworth's clerk, restaurant worker; movie usher; newspaper delivery boy, messenger, Chinese food delivery person, pet shop cleaner, baby sitter, electronics board assembler in an electronic church organ manufacturing company, clerk at a soda fountain; greeting card salesman, and as an intern at Philip Morris' headquarters in New York.

In 1988, Espuelas graduated "with distinction" from Connecticut College with a degree in history. While at Connecticut College, Espuelas was first Managing Editor, then Editor-in-Chief and eventually Publisher of the college's newspaper, The College Voice and its associated publications. Espuelas also served as the President of Branford House, as well as on several college-wide faculty-student-administration committees, including the College's Education Committee. He was later elected to the Board of Trustees of Connecticut College.