Desperation had set in for Angel Plaza, its grip pushing him to the streets of Newark after months of unemployment as a struggling college student.

On a large foam board that he designed, Plaza made his written message plain: Engineering student looking for a job. Please take a resume. #TheMarathonContinues. He included his LinkedIn name and college email address at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he’s a junior majoring in electrical engineering.

Plaza, 25, then gathered himself for its debut. He spent a few minutes in meditation and prayer on April 29, the day he held up that sign while standing at the bottom of the entrance ramp to Route 280 and Broad Street in Newark.

“I just wanted to give myself courage to go out there and be successful," Plaza said.

He handed out 200 resumes to people from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., hoping for some good fortune. Not only did he attract attention from encouraging motorists, his social media page lit up after he gave a homeless man his last $2 to take his picture. On Instagram, 2,700 people “liked” the image of him holding the sign and another 1,500 shared it.

“I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t have to be," Plaza said.

It took him three months to get to this point. The idea, he said, came from a former teacher, who had given him an article about someone else who did the same thing.

Plaza had nothing to lose. He had been looking for work since December when an internship with Panasonic ended. He found another job in January, but that employer let him go after a month. Plaza, determined to get ahead, continued take classes at night and sought employment during the day. He was still out of luck and facing eviction with no money coming in.

Two friends, who graduated from Central High School and NJIT, saw Plaza’s Facebook post of him holding the sign. They reached out to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was once their principal and mentor at the high school.

Baraka said his former students, who now live in Detroit working as engineers, told him that Plaza was a good kid in need of help.

At Baraka’s request, Plaza went to City Hall with his resume last month. He had an interview with the engineering department, which referred him to the Office of Information Technology. The meeting went well. He reported for work this past Monday.

Baraka said Plaza is a brilliant young man, “obviously industrious" and willing to do the work.

“That was clear to me," he said. “But I told him that you don’t have to be out in the street with a billboard. I’ll give you an opportunity."

Plaza realizes that now, but his pride gets in the way. He’s afraid to ask for help, pointing to disappointment in his life that stops him from sharing his struggles.

His mother, Marvis Foucha, died two years ago from cancer. It was an emotional blow since they had reconnected after she reclaimed her life from drug addiction.

Angel Plaza thinks about his struggles and what led him to hold up a sign seeking employment as he handed out his resume at the entrance ramp of Route 280 and Broad Street in Newark (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)(Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)

His step-dad, also named Angel Plaza, has Alzheimer’s disease, a debilitating condition that made Plaza cry when he saw him two years ago on Father’s Day. Talking about it Tuesday had him wiping away tears again.

Plaza said his namesake is the reason why he’s good at math. He’s always supported Plaza’s interest in science and his childhood desire to be like Jimmy Neutron, the Nickelodeon genius who invented gadgets and solved problems.

He remembered how hard his father worked, changing jobs, moving several times with him and his sister in Montclair before they settled in Newark. The struggles, he said, strengthen his resolve to be self-reliant since he’s never been stable, not even in college. He’s had several jobs since freshmen year and had to find affordable places to live when the school year ended. He had no home. His mother was in hospice; his dad lived with a family member.

“I try to do it on my own grit and my own hard work," Plaza said.

That’s why nobody knew about his father’s illness and how he was affected by his mother’s death. He failed every class that spring semester, then left school only to find himself homeless when his campus housing ended that summer.

Plaza pushed forward, landing a job at a box manufacturing company. It took about two months to save up enough money for an apartment.

“I won’t ask for help unless I’ve exhausted all my resources," he said.

Alturrick Kenney, a Newark resident and his mentor, tells Plaza that a lot of people are in his corner.

Kenney is one of them. Plaza moved in with Kenney and his wife after he was evicted last month.

“It’s an invitation as long as he needs it," Kenney said.

Plaza, who re-enrolled in NJIT in 2018, appreciates the love, even from strangers who took a resume from him that day. They admired his hustle.

“I do not know how I do all of this," Plaza said. “It’s just something that I have inside of me that’s persevering. Maybe it’s my mom’s spirt. Maybe it’s my dad."

Maybe it’s because he’s ready to open up and share his story.

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Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.