When Majlinda Tuxhari left Albania for new opportunities in the United States, she gave up a career auditing government financial activities and two years of study in law school.

But when her family was selected in a U.S. green card lottery, she and her husband, Shefqet – a building engineer who did appraisals on properties for the National Bank in Tirana, the nation's capital – jumped at the opportunity.

Majlinda now works at the housekeeping team at Fox Run Retirement Community in Novi and teaches English as a Second Language in the Walled Lake School District.

Her sacrifice paid off when the couple’s daughter, Snezhana, received her doctorate in osteopathic medicine from Michigan State University this spring. Snezhana will complete her residency in family medicine at Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills.

“Moving to the U.S. was a big sacrifice, especially for my parents, who were in their 40s at the time,” Snezhana said.

“Everything seemed different here," she said. "Sometimes we laughed, sometimes we cried, but in the end, this journey brought us closer to each other. My sisters and I are forever grateful to our parents for their sacrifice and for teaching us the values that have helped us succeed in our lives.”

Snezhana’s sisters, Idis and Rojxhi, have also found career success. Idis is employed at Ally Bank and is working on her Master of Business Administration degree at Wayne State University. Rojxhi is studying premed at the University of Detroit Mercy, working toward becoming a physician’s assistant.

The Tuxhari family story is not unique to Fox Run. Other employees have celebrated similar accomplishments by their children after moving to America.

Miranda Mulo and her husband, Alqui, immigrated to Novi from Albania. She had a degree in in accounting, and he had a degree in dentistry, but both relinquish their careers because of different requirements and licensing regulations in the United States.

But their daughter Ira has continued her father’s legacy, receiving a doctorate in dentistry this spring from the University of Mercy Detroit, where her father proudly placed the doctoral hood around her shoulders.

The couple’s son Kostika also graduated this spring from Wayne State University with a bachelor’s degree in a premed program, and he plans to become a medical doctor.

Aurica and Stefan Gradinaru came to the U.S. from Romania, where she worked in a factory crafting and manufacturing wooden toys and cabinets, and he worked as a maintenance engineer on railways.  Aurica now works in the Fox Run laundry department, and Stefan works in the maintenance department.

This spring, the couple placed the doctoral hood around the shoulders of their son Ciprian, who graduated from Wayne State University with a doctorate in medicine and will complete his residency in radiology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Their daughter Stefania, an employee of Greenfield Financial Credit Co., earned her MBA from WSU in 2008.

“We’re proud of our Fox Run employees whose hard work, determination and sacrifice have made it possible for their children to experience their dreams in the ‘land of opportunity,’ ” said Fox Run Executive Director Michael McCormick.