Honduras immigrant finds success and humanitarian purpose at UDC

Osman Milla has come a long way from his small village in Honduras, where his formal education ended at 12. Today, he is preparing to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management from UDC in 2024 and has become a recognized humanitarian assisting immigrants and the homeless.

Originally from El Encanto, Honduras, after sixth grade, Milla worked on farms planting tomatoes, corn and beans like many children who could not go to the city to continue their education. By age 16, his parents urged him to join his older brother and two sisters in Washington, D.C., to complete his education. After a month and a half journey to the nation’s capital, he began working a full and part-time restaurant job.

His passion for helping those less fortunate led him to ask his manager for the leftover food to give to the homeless that he passed on the way back from work.

“There was a lot of food being thrown out every night at the restaurant,” Milla said. “Every day, I would walk around and give it to the homeless people. I would talk to them about their situation.”

Milla could easily relate to their plight after growing up with a scarcity of food and no running water or electricity as a child.

“Back in my country, I struggled so much,” he said. “Having nothing to eat was an everyday thing.”

Milla is passionate about helping people in need and currently assists victims of natural disasters in his native Honduras. He helped to get 20 extra-large boxes of donations and bought 100 mattresses to help the community members in Honduras affected by a hurricane. Milla, who is now 32, also raised more than $10,000 for seven nonprofits in Honduras that helped families in need. He also raised money to send to Guanaja, one of the bay islands of Honduras, after a catastrophic fire that affected 2,500 people.

In 2021, he received the D.C. Mayor’s Art Award for Excellence in Humanities and UDC’s Student Humanitarian & Civic Engagement Award for his work with the homeless in the District.

More recently, when immigrants were sent to Washington, D.C., by bus from Texas, he and his siblings helped two men that they met from Venezuela find a place to live and employment.

When Milla first arrived, he spent four years learning English and completing his GED. He earned a culinary Arts certificate from the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, where his mentor encouraged him to pursue higher education at UDC. He earned his associate degree in hospitality management in 2020 and is currently working on a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management and is expected to graduate in 2024.

Milla also plans to get his master’s degree in social work. He is currently the secretary of the LatinX Association at UDC and a member of the National Society for Minorities in Hospitality.

“I knew I had to finish my education because I promised my parents,” he said. “My mom is very proud of me. Everything I’m doing is how my mom told me to treat people. I’m the type of person who cares about people in need.”

In addition to being a student, Milla is a program coordinator for LOFT Source at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. The LOFT Source program works to diversify the workforce by providing a vehicle to supply Latino talent. The program has worked with companies such as Exxon Mobil, CVS Health, Google, Time Warner, Target, PwC, LinkedIn, BBVA Compass, Goldman Sachs, and government agencies such as CFPB, SEC Treasury and Federal Exchange.

Milla considers himself fortunate to have fulfilled his parents’ desire for a better life in the U.S. He also appreciates the October celebration of his culture.

“Hispanic Heritage Month is extremely important to me. The month celebrates the heritage and impact that Latinos have made in America. Latin Americans impacted America before America became America. We have served in America’s military since the fight for independence and have contributed positively to the culture. The month celebrates our contributions and legacy in America.”