• Name: Kenny Velez, 47
• Hometown: Lakeland, Fla.
• Job: Physical therapist

I was born in Puerto Rico to an alcoholic father and a lovely mother. Neither one had a high school education. We were very poor but so was everybody we knew so it was normal.

During high school and college, I used to work in the pineapple fields and construction to help with my college education. I graduated from college in 1990 with a degree in physical therapy and moved to Lakeland, Fla., to work at the local hospital. I could not speak English, but that was not going to stop me.

My salary at the hospital was $28,000, so I worked two to three jobs at the same time to get ahead and to get my family off the ground.

I was fortunate to meet a retired banker who took me under his wing and gave me a lot of financial education. I read multiple financial books and did a lot of self education on retirement accounts, mutual funds, insurance, etc. Together, we developed a long-term financial plan, and my wife and I stuck with it for 24 years.

My wife continues to work on her education, and today she is an advanced registered nurse practitioner. I am a supervisor at the hospital.

We now live in our second home and have a net worth of over $1 million. We both have great careers, minimal debt and look forward to a comfortable retirement.

But our greatest pride is our 19-year-old daughter who last year was her class valedictorian and is now at the University of Florida, studying pre-med.

This is the greatest country in the world, and it is great to know that our daughter doesn't have to work in a pineapple field to pay for her college education.

From Ozy: From a 6-week course to a 6-figure salary

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