Paula Hendley

I received my visa in late 1994, either November or December, and by January 1995, I had packed my bags and moved to New York City. I was 25 years old, young and full of excitement for what lay ahead.

During my college years, I had spent two summers on a J1 visa in Boston and Cape Cod, and I absolutely loved every minute of it, the sunshine, the energy, the lifestyle, the opportunity. I knew then that I wanted to live in the U.S. long-term. After graduating in 1991, I applied every year for a visa. In 1994, I finally won the Morrison Visa lottery. I was working in Dublin at the time in a job with little promise or growth, so when I got the letter, I was ready, more than ready, to take a leap.

That first summer in New York is burned into my memory. I had landed a job I loved just three months after arriving. One evening, some colleagues and I took the Circle Line cruise after work, it was one of those perfect, warm NYC nights. The boat made its way down the Hudson, around the tip of Manhattan, and up the East River. I was surrounded by the glittering skyline of Manhattan, the silhouettes of Queens, Brooklyn, New Jersey. The sun was shining, a breeze was blowing, and I remember thinking to myself: “I’m here. I made it.”

That moment took my breath away.

“At 25 years old, I was living and working in New York City, standing on my own two feet, paying my own way, and feeling more alive than I ever had.”

I had experienced more in those first six months than I had in the previous three years back home in Dublin. It was overwhelming in the best way. I felt unstoppable.

Of course, it wasn’t all easy. I missed my mother terribly and couldn’t afford to fly home for a full year. That was incredibly hard. But I was determined to make it home for Christmas. So I took on three jobs, my full-time job with overtime and two part-time gigs, just to afford a ticket. That’s the kind of drive the Morrison Visa ignited in me.

Over the years, that spirit stayed with me. I learned how to stand up for myself. I learned that through hard work and determination, you really can achieve anything. I paid cash for my wedding and bought my own apartment on the Upper East Side. None of that would have been possible if I had stayed in Ireland. I grew up in New York. I built a career. I built a life. And now, I give back to the community that welcomed me in.

The Morrison Visa programme gave me more than a work permit, it gave me the belief that I belonged. That I had something to offer. That I could thrive.

“And I would say this to anyone who received the same gift: its legacy doesn’t end with you. Carry it forward. Use what you’ve been given to help others. Because that is the true measure of its impact.”