The American dream. For some people, this is more than just a simple saying. One of these people is Ibrahim Dinc. What brought him to America is not just the travel bug, you can say it is part of his DNA. The 47-year-old was born in Turkey and came to Germany when he was just eleven years old. His first big journey so to say, but evidently not his last, nor would Germany be his last destination.
“It was basically word-of-mouth advertising, as the saying goes.”
And then the word that sealed the deal was dropped: “America”. This big country far, far away across the ocean. The land of endless possibilities, but also the big unknown, that filled him with excitement and curiosity. There he was: a young man, full of ambitions, eager to travel, and open for the world, and so, he took his chance: applied for an internship, was accepted and then went to the Grenzebach office in Newnan, Georgia, for six months. A whole different world.
So far, Solar
After that, he and the company parted ways, but not for a long time. He finished his studies and graduated in 2008, and shortly after, Grenzebach called and got him back on board. He started working mostly in the field of solar energy, mostly together with an American based customer – his way back to the United States.
In his day-to-day work, he takes care of the conceptualization: the customer has a problem, they discuss concepts of possible solutions, agree on a solution. He is the contact person for basically the whole process from concept to installation, so to say, also available if questions on the site arise, for example.
Since 2011, he was a regular visitor in Newnan, travelling there four to five times a year, always for about four to six weeks. The following decision was an easy one to make for him for several reasons: He already traveled there often anyway, had no family commitments in Germany, and there was also the thrill of something new, something completely different to his everyday life in Germany. So, from 2017 on, he and the company had made up their minds: Ibrahim Dinc would move to America. After a couple of years prolonging his stay again and again, he finally decided to make it official and apply for this Green Card.
When asked what he liked about America, working for Grenzebach in Newnan, Ibrahim Dinc shortly ponders, and then replies: “I would say it is meeting all these different people from different countries, who are all strangers here, but are combined by speaking this common language and committed to the same goal. This connects.”
He is still friends with people from his time as an intern in 2006, and his job brings him together with many nationalities anyway. And, if he is homesick, there are other German colleagues on site in Newnan, who are always eager to help, or to go out for an afterwork activities. And his work brings him regularly back Germany, so he stays connected with his family, friends and colleagues in Germany. “For someone like me, this might be just the right way of life.” Also, who knows, maybe still not the last destination on his journey.
