David Upegui, a Latino immigrant who found his way out of poverty through science, approached his life with a game plan driven by an upward trajectory. He shares with us how he thought he had it all, only for his life to completely change one day in the hospital room after the birth of his eldest son with Down syndrome. From his journey, Professor Upegui demonstrates the importance of looking beyond our assumptions and that opportunity and growth knocks on our door even when we are not looking for it. David Upegui is a Latino immigrant who found his way out of poverty through science. He currently serves as a science teacher at his alma mater, Central Falls High School (RI) and as an adjunct professor of Education at Brown University. His personal journey has taken many interesting and unexpected roads. It was the birth of his oldest son that began a transformative set of events that eventually included earning a PhD and publishing a book on integrating racial justice into biology. He has received several accolades for his professional work, but ultimately, it is the success of his students that he values most professionally. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx