In the Saint Peters Hospital of New Brunswick, Angel Oliveira was born by a mother who had drugs flowing through her veins. Throughout her life, Oliveira mastered the quiet, persistent art of resilience. Brazilian and Jewish by heritage, she carries her history in her smooth, fair skin, and dark wavy hair.
Her mother had six children. “She didn’t raise any of them and she put a lot of them up for adoption,” Oliveira said.
Her biological father was a stranger she never met. No memories, no voice, just absence. He was married when her mother was pregnant with her and was deported for trafficking drugs.
It wasn’t until the age of nine that Oliveira’s mother told her that the man they were living with was not actually her father. Relief swept over her. Oliveira said, “…I was raised to call him dad, but it wasn’t something that I really wanted to do.”
As she grew up, living uncomfortably was Oliveira’s norm. Her brother’s father was consumed by alcohol addiction. She said, “We kind of saw violence all the time.” Oliveira explained that it was common for the cops to be at their house because her mother’s husband was a man with heavy abusive hands. “The only person he didn’t hit was my brother,” she said.
She was taught to work in the kitchen at a young age. If a dirty dish was found her mothers husband would dump the whole tray back into the sink for her to start over again.
The local church was a light in the darkness for Oliveira and her brother. She explained, “…everyone kind of knew about my parents and how he treated her and everything.” This led to the children spending some Sundays at the pastor’s house for dinner and movies. Although the situation was confusing for Oliveira. She said, “There were all these adults and then there’s just me and my brother.”
The feeling of being out of place was later replaced by the harsh reality of their circumstances. Oliveira and her family were evicted. “…he literally threw us out on the street.My mom was taking stuff and putting it in garbage bags, and they were like, no, you have to leave.” Their Godmother provided her home to them for a couple months.
Their next temporary home was a drug house. “Me and my brother slept in the same room, and we would sometimes have to stay in there, like we had to get locked in,” Oliveira said. On the other side of the door was the chaos of intoxicated adults and the unsettling unknown.
They moved from a drug house to a rented out basement where the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) was called on numerous occasions. Her brother’s alcoholic father would tell them what to say to the social workers so they would not be taken from him.
Once in middle school, Oliveira’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Self harm was Oliveira’s way of coping. She said, “That was the only way I was able to kind of manage with everything.”
Oliveira eventually moved to Connecticut, to take care of her sick mother who had moved on to her third husband. He was the kind of man who lingered too long near cracked doors and open windows.“I just created disgust for men. Like, I was always scared of them,” Oliveira said.
Senior year of highschool her mom passed away. Oliveira said, “I had just lost the one person I lived for.” Her pain brought her closer to God. “I didn’t have my mom to call so I called on God,” said Oliveira.
She has attended church all of her life. It even brought her a lifelong friend Deisy, who admires her. She said, “I love everything about Angel…if I had to pick one thing, it would be her devotion to the Lord. Her armor never becomes faulty.”
In the ache of her mothers absence, another woman named Leidiane stepped into Oliveira’s life when she was 16 years old. Leidiane is the mother of Oliveira’s friend Sarah. Oliveira said, “She was like the mom I never had…”
Leidiane treats Oliveira like her own and as she explained, pushed her into the light after dealing with so much darkness. With all that Oliveira went through Leidiane said, “She’s made my faith strong.”
Oliveira didn’t have money and didn’t want to burden anyone, so she prayed. Heranswered prayer came in the form of a scholarship to attend Monmouth University. Located in West Long Branch, New Jersey, where ocean breezes carry the scent of possibility, and old stone buildings carry deep history. While at Monmouth she studied biology with a concentration in molecular cell physiology.
Once a young girl who endured deep pain and hardship, she is now a 20-year-old woman pursuing her career and preparing for marriage. Oliveira is devoting her life to pour that same faith, love, and strength into others.
Reflecting on her life story, Oliveira believes that God was trying to reveal himself to her the whole time. She explained, “What I didn’t understand was that God was the one taking care of me…because if you look at my story, I shouldn’t be where I am.”
Elizabeth O’Brien, director of the Educational Opportunity Fund program at Monmouth University said, “What makes Angel special is her personality. She is determined to make a positive impact on her world and I have no doubt she will accomplish that. She can be soft spoken at first but her presence is always known. She is determined to not have her past dictate her future.”
