The extraordinary life of Armand Peri: How one man overcame all odds
Armand had different plans, however, when he was old enough, he set out into the world with a dream to prove to his parents that their long held beliefs around being impoverished was completely wrong
Armand Peri was born and raised in Vila do Conde, Portugal. At the age of 12, Armand followed his family to the United States where they migrated in 1977. His family settled in Newark, NJ where they lived in a small, cramped one-bedroom apartment.
Armand’s parents also wanted the best for their son. They were always very loving and caring towards him, however, they instilled a pessimistic view of life into Armand’s young mind.
His parents strongly believed that they had little to no control over their own fate. If you were born poor you remained so and that, more or less, was that. This pessimistic viewpoint led to much argument between Armand’s parents about what they could afford and what they couldn’t afford.
Armand had different plans, however. When he was old enough, he set out into the world with a dream to prove to his parents that their long held beliefs around being impoverished was completely wrong.
As a young teenager, Armand quickly showed a strong talent for art. He worked tirelessly and his talents were soon recognised by various national talent art competitions. He was even lucky enough to travel to Washington, D.C to meet with then-President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan.
Not long afterwards Armand’s hard work paid off as he was accepted into the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His parents, however, had other ideas and pressured him to switch to a more stable and traditional career. After much deliberation, Armand made the decision to move his university major to architecture.
