Living the Dream

Angel M. Dejesus believes the staff and resources of the Kirstein Business Library and Innovation Center at the Boston Public Library played a significant role in his highly successful career shift from the hospitality industry to commercial and residential real estate. And he is giving back.

As a child, he grew up around the corner from the Roxbury Branch and visited regularly. In some ways it was only natural that as an adult he would look to Kirstein as a place to study and find financial books to read. He took advantage of some of the small-business programming offered there as well, including the SCORE mentorship program—which matches successful business people with aspiring entrepreneurs.

“Now, I’m living the American Dream,” says Angel, who is in his early 40s and is an annual donor to the Fund. “Because of the Boston Public Library’s free business classes and computer workshops, I acquired helpful skills and found many useful books that enabled me to grow my business tremendously. That’s why, when I created my will last year, I chose to earmark a portion of my estate to provide future support for financial literacy programs at the Library as well.”