Every person I met was a giant who lifted me up.
All these people who have helped me, those who have gotten to know me, are the true blessings in life.
Yassine
My Beloved friend Yassine taught me how to be a God conscious merchant, persevere through difficulty with Grace & a Smile.
I’m devastated that I won’t get to see him, but grateful that I was able to share afew steps in life with him 😢
He was a mentor and an inspiration for me to pursue the path of entrepreneurship, not because he was rich, but it was a way for him to be of service. I watched him suffer blows in business, but still have a smile on his face and just start again, undeterred. I remember wanting what he had, strength & gentleness. Everyone loved him, customers and community members alike. I’m sure I’m not the only one here inspired.
My words don’t do his person justice. Business wasn’t just a means to an end for him, it was a part of his worship, something I feel honored to have witnessed. Something that I, myself aspire to.
Dr. James Houck
One of the folks that I feel most deeply appreciative of, this is personal, is Dr. James Houck, God rest his soul. He was the principal investigator on the Spitzer Space Telescope Project and he was kind enough to offer me a full-time job at NASA as one of the youngest engineers when I dropped out of Cornell University because I was too poor. … That was incredibly kind of him. Had that not happened, I probably would have been working at a grocery store. There was a very real possibility that nothing else would have come together.
My teachers and mentors
My mentors shaped this understanding:
• Dr. Benin, my history teacher whose family escaped the Holocaust, taught me to guard against hatred and think critically
• Van Homes, volunteering at the YMCA, introduced me to karate and shared his experience as one of the first Black programmers
• Mr. Renna, my science teacher and a Catholic deacon, modeled a life of service & grace after losing his wife.
• Mr. DeLuca, taught me to see math in the real world.
• Ms. Pillai from Guyana embodied the immigrant pursuing the American Dream
• Mrs. Clemens demonstrated Asian American excellence, reminding me former students became world-renowned doctors
…
The American Dream has always been about hope, building, and meritocracy. Never hate or supremacy. Every person I met was a giant who lifted me up.
Milken Family Foundation
Every mentor was a giant who lifted me up. Thanks to the Milken Family Foundation who gave me a scholarship and mentorship where successful American modeled giving of their time & money to helping build a better world.
I'm grateful to the Milken Scholars program for providing me with such a rich and meaningful network of people and opportunities.
Serge Sverdlov
One of the other fellow Milken scholars, Serge Sverdlov, flew down to Florida to see me. He saw that I was running a multimillion dollar online car business while working at the U.S. Department of Defense and was like, “Why aren’t you a CTO of a startup?” Until that moment, it did not occur to me that I could do business and engineering. … And then he backed me, he was like, “I’ll back you.”
Michael Milken and Dr. Edward Zuckerberg
As an entrepreneur, I’ve found inspiration in building meaningful relationships with visionaries like Michael Milken and Dr. Edward Zuckerberg, among others. Their mentorship has added value to my journey, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be on this exhilarating path.