Kimberly Carvalho

At the age of 12, Kimberly Carvalho’s world changed abruptly. 

She was living in Florida, the daughter of two successful Brazilian-born entrepreneurs, when her parents received the final denial of their green cards. Kimberly, who was born in the U.S., moved to Brazil with her mother and had to put her Portuguese to the test in school for the first time. At age 15 she sold chocolate at school to help make ends meet at home – the first of many entrepreneurial efforts.

Determined to return to the U.S. for college, she moved in with an uncle during her last year of high school. She slept on an inflatable mattress, cleaned the house, and worked as a waitress, babysitter and deli clerk to provide for herself. With the help of her guidance counselor, she received admission to FIU, along with three scholarships.

During her time at FIU, Kimberly studied abroad and joined Alpha Kappa Psi, a business fraternity. Among her jobs, she worked at StandardAero, an aviation company, HBO Latin America and as a tour guide in Lisbon, Portugal. Her job at Officine Gullo, an Italian kitchen company, spurred her to major in logistics and supply chain management, which aligned with international business, her other major.

Thanks to hard work and frugal living, Kimberly married her childhood sweetheart, saved money and backpacked through Europe. After graduation, Kimberly hopes to use her entrepreneurial skills to build her career and run an international business of her own. 

By Ellen Forman
Associate Director of News, Publications & Communications
College of Business