JUNE 2023

Authentic Italian style restaurant featuring cut to order steaks, fresh seafood, homemade pasta and pizzas and several salad options.
Spacious Banquet rooms available perfect for corporate events and meetings, family celebrations, weddings and showers.
Simply delicious food served
by the finest Professionals
Private banquet rooms for
groups from 20-150 people
PATIO
NOW OPEN!
CASUAL DINING AT IT’S BEST
Authentic Italian style restaurant featuring cut
to order steaks, fresh seafood, homemade pasta
and pizzas and several salad options.
Spacious Banquet rooms available perfect
for corporate CASUAL events DINING and AT meetings, ITS BEST family
celebrations, weddings and showers.
Authentic Italian style restaurant featuring cut to order steaks, fresh seafood, homemade pasta and pizzas and several salad options.
Spacious Banquet rooms available perfect for corporate events and meetings, family celebrations, weddings and showers.
Simply delicious food served
by the finest Professionals
CASUAL DINING AT ITS BEST
5600 Crooks Road, Troy, Michigan
248.813.0700 ◆ www.loccino.com
5600 Crooks Road, Troy, Michigan
248.813.0700 ◆ www.loccino.com
Let our 1,235 years of
combined legal experience
work for you.
A TTORNEYS & C O UNSELORS AT LAW
(734) 261-2400 • www.cmda-law.com • racho@cmda-law.com
NEW AMERICANS
continued from page 28
he is currently halfway done with a
master’s degree. Once he finishes, he
plans to go for a Ph.D.
Right now, David works as a software
engineer for General Motors. He
enjoys his job and thinks the company
is in a prime position to make
great leaps in technology. “I believe
they have a unique vision and amazing
goals,” he said. “They want to accomplish
things that align very well
with what I want to do.”
David’s childhood was mostly devoid
of the technology he would have
grown up with had he been born in
the United States. In Iraq and Syria,
his schools didn’t have computers,
and he didn’t own a smartphone.
Only when he came to the States did
he become fascinated by technology.
“I was so interested in how all
these things work,” he said. Now, he
leads projects developing software
and applications for one of the largest
automotive companies in the world.
David’s parents are instrumental
in his life. “They are my number one
supporters, from Day One. They offer
me advice and tell me to focus on
my career and education,” he said.
Education, according to David, enables
your potential. It makes you
aware of what you’re actually capable
of doing.
While David inherited a passion
for education from his parents, he
still needed to account for the hefty
cost of tuition. This is why he sought
help from the Chaldean Community
Foundation, which awarded him a
$5,000 scholarship, allowing him to
go to school without having to work
full-time. In his own words, this escalated
his education journey.
David exemplifies an extraordinary
level of poise and prudence for
his young age of 26 years. He comes
across as twice his age in wisdom,
foresight, and maturity. He humbly
attributes much of this attitude to his
father’s steady influence, and he uses
it to mentor others. In fact, he came
ready to the interview with a motivational
message.
“Assign tasks to yourself,” he said,
emphasizing consistency. “If you go
to the gym once a week, you’re not going
to see much results. If you go five
days a week, you start to see results.”
It’s this kind of routine that empowers
people to achieve large and distant
goals.
For David, it’s very important to
believe in yourself and your abilities.
“There might be obstacles along
the way, but with determination and
perseverance, you can overcome any
challenge,” he said. Think ahead,
plan your goals, and dream. Either
way, it’s not just about the final outcome.
Enjoy the journey, too.
David also talked about a circle of
an established comfort zone that represents
your life. He constantly pushes
himself to move beyond its edges
– by traveling, learning new things,
challenging himself intellectually
and physically, and inspiring others
based on his story.
“I’m going to tell you a story,” he
said, bright-eyed and eager. “I was in
high school, I had just moved to the
States. At that time, my English was
broken. I was starting this new life. I
didn’t know what to do. And I saw a
picture on social media of someone in
cap and gown, graduating from Oakland
University.”
The young man in the photo held
his degree in his hand, smiling with
pride, showing it off to the world. “If
he can make it, then I can make it as
well,” David said. “This picture never
left my brain.”
Years later, David saw the graduate
at a gathering. He approached him
and introduced himself. “I told him all
about his picture that I saw,” he said.
“The picture was a great way for me to
picture myself and stick to my goals, to
get to the place I want to be in.
“I invite you to embrace your own
journey and the challenges it brings,”
David said. “Rise above the obstacles
and never lose sight of your dreams
with perseverance, determination,
and belief in your own potential.
“One day, you might be sitting at
a restaurant or a café or a party and
have someone approach you the way
I did. Someone will be inspired by
you. You can create a motivational
story that inspires others and leads
to a future full of success,” he added.
“Success is not limited by circumstances.
It’s borne out of determination
to overcome obstacles. It’s
about how you’re impacting others,
how you’ve changed the lives around
you.”
30 CHALDEAN NEWS JUNE 2023