I grew up in Northern California with my parents and younger sister. We lived in what was then considered a small town (pop. 80,000). As a teenager I always knew that I would leave home to go to college--and that is exactly what I did. In September of 1995 I flew across the states to move to New York City. Wow what a change that was.
College was a good experience. My one complaint would be that I didn't make close friends like the ones I had in high school. I admit that I was intimidated by all of smart students around me (though I realize now that I failed to recognize my own academic strengths). I found a wonderful mentor in a Ms. Eurydice Kelley who graduated a few years before me.
She and I became close through a working relationship while I interned at the "Jane Addams Peace Association." The internship was for a women's organization located at the United Nations, and I loved working there. I was awarded a Human Rights Grant by my college for my internship. On top of it all, I applied for an independent study on the Jane Addam's organization and was able to obtain some extra credits towards my degree.
Besides my studies in Human Rights (I majored in Political Science with most of my coursework in Human Rights related classes), I also studied the Chinese language. Chinese was not a minor or even a second major. It was simply a language I studied that felt like it should've been a second major. Learning Chinese from scratch isn't easy, and I will say that it was quite exhilerating to spend a summer in China and know that I could carry on full conversation in Chinese. When my mom and grandma came to meet me for a break during my summer program I greeted them in Chinese. At that moment, I was triumphant.
College provided me with insight into the larger world out there. The fact that human rights atrocities are occurring every day all over the world. The fact that when you're walking in Chinatown an old Chinese man may just actually spit on your boot (this really did happen to me).
College also enabled me to meet my love. The one man that I want to spend the rest of my life with. He is smart and caring. I am so grateful to have him and every day I see him he brings a smile to my face (as you can see by the pics on my homepage). I have faith and confidence in his ability to do anything he sets out to do, and I know that he has these same thoughts towards me. I think the most important things in a relationship are: respect, love, and a common goal of working together to get things done.
As the years following my college graduation pass by, I find myself increasingly appreciative of my college education and experiences. I am actively involved in Barnard's alumni programs. I write the "Class Notes" for my class in the Barnard quarterly magazine, and serve as an Admission representative for the west coast. If I return to New York my dream job would be an Admissions Officer position at my alma mater.
Upon graduating from college I lived in NYC for two years and worked in the media industry. I managed to gain experience at two similar companies and along the way, pick up so many great friends. My best friends are now the ones I met while I was working in New York. So although college may not have been filled with great friendships, work definitely was.
In September of 2000, Mehdi moved to California to begin his MBA at Stanford's Business School. I continued to work in New York for approximately 6 months before moving to CA to join him. After coming to California I found a job as a Development Executive at the Chinese Culture Center. This job allowed me to excel and do things I had never dreamed of. One of my proudest moments was seeing the culmination of my concept and hard work to bring an art exhibition for emerging asian artists to reality. "Got Art?: Showcasing Works by Emerging Asian Artists" was the first exhibition of it's kind at the Chinese Culture Center. It was such a success that it will now become an annual event. You can not imagine how thrilled I am that this developed into something so wonderful.
At this stage in my life I am embarking on the incredible adventure of showing pomeranians. Since moving to California our house has acquired two very beautiful poms. There is more information on these dogs on my "Pomeranians" pages.
I hope you have enjoyed hearing a little more about me. Thanks for visiting.
