Stories
Chinese Immigrant Establishes Law Firm in Cleveland
Su HeBusiness Immigration Attorney, Professor, and Community Leader Su He came from a family of physicians in Beijing, China, so when she developed a passion for international business law, she needed to find new role models. Fortunately, she found the support she needed at Case Western Reserve University School… Read More
Indian Immigrant Founds B2B Software Firm in Cleveland
Sudhir AcharTechnology and Community Leader In 1991, Sudhir Achar emigrated from Bangalore, India to pursue his master’s degree in industrial engineering at Cleveland State University. Between classes, he worked as an international student ambassador, helping newcomers integrate. After graduation, he was hired by Philips Medical Systems (PMS), where he… Read More
Indian Immigrant Makes Good on Dreams to Become Researcher
Saeed KhanRetired Professor, University of Florida – Department of Urology Growing up in his native India, Saeed Khan’s parents were adamant their eight children attend college. Khan was always impressed with textbooks—especially the references. “It became my dream to become a researcher so I could be cited at the… Read More
Indian Immigrant Supports Gainesville Community
Jyoti ParmarExecutive Director North Central Florida Indivisible At 11, Jyoti Parmar competed in an annual neighborhood race in her Indian town. The first-place prize: a shiny, red bicycle with tassels. But when Parmar won, she was told, “That’s the boys prize.” She argued with the judges but ultimately walked… Read More
Mechanical Engineer Builds Bridges Across Communities
When General Electric Transportation/Wabtec offered Brittany Lee Fisher a job as a mechanical engineer in Edison Engineering Development Program (EEDP) in 2016, she jumped at the chance. The daughter of Korean and Japanese immigrants, Fisher knew the position would allow her to build a strong career and make her parents’… Read More
Kyrgyzstan Refugee Helps Welcome Newcomers to Erie
Anna Tischenko loved her tight-knit community in Kyrgyzstan and dreamed of living near her parents. Anna grew up nonreligious, but after marrying a Baptist Christian—a religious minority—she saw a different side of her country. When her husband was younger, he didn’t feel safe walking alone because gangs and corrupt police… Read More
Immigrant Entrepreneur Shares Culture through Pinatas
Esther Ortiz was born in Mexico and spent her childhood straddling the California border, but she found her home in Erie. In 1994, her parents landed jobs at Plastek, a local plastics manufacturing company and settled in Erie’s upper west side neighborhood. Their family of 11 – her parents and… Read More
From Syria to Erie: Immigrant Family Finds Success and Community
Mahmoud Albaradan had a thriving used car dealership in Daraa, Syria. But in 2011, anti-government protests propelled the city into civil war. As violence escalated, Mahmoud, his wife and their six children, along with his brother’s family of nine, fled for their lives. In 2016, after four years in a… Read More
Immigrant helps promote small business development in Middlesex County, NJ
Luis DeLaHoz was granted asylum and moved to the United States in 2004. By 2005, he was running his own-income tax preparation business in New Brunswick. He had a good education behind him. Raised in Manizales, in the coffee region of central Colombia, DeLaHoz had a bachelor’s degree in economics… Read More
From coding to coaching — an immigrant entrepreneur makes it his mission to help the next generation succeed
Rashaad Bajwa arrived in the United States when he was 3 years old. Learning English was easy, given his age. And his parents, educated in British schools in Pakistan, spoke English at home. But he still lived the immigrant experience. “I still am,” he says. “Even though I grew up… Read More
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