Immigrant American Billionaires

America truly is the land of opportunity: it is the one place on Earth, where you can come with nothing but talent, dreams, and – most importantly – the drive to work hard and then turn those dreams and ideas into real-life success. The United States is the world’s leader in terms of numbers of billionaires (492 in 2014), and over 10 percent of American billionaires are foreign-born. Coming from 23 different countries, many came to get their bachelor’s or graduate degrees. Others came as children with their parents. Some came with money and business ideas. Others came with very little money. They all share two common attributes: a strong work ethic and the determination to succeed. Besides the very well-known Hungarian-American hedge-fund manager George Soros and Russian-American Google founder Sergey Brin, there are many extraordinary success stories, some of which we share below.

Take, for example, Shahid Khan, who came to the United States from Pakistan at the age of sixteen with only $500 to his name. He came to study engineering at the University of Illinois, and arrived in the middle of a blizzard with no place to stay and no friends or family to help him. That first night, he stayed at a YMCA, and the next day, he washed dishes in its kitchen for $1.20 an hour to make back some of the money he owed on the room. Another person would have crumbled, but Khan looked at everything from a different perspective. Sure, $1.20 an hour was very little money – but he was still making more than 99% of Pakistanis! He studied diligently, joined a fraternity, and met his future wife while studying for his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. After graduation, he worked as an engineering manager at a local auto parts company. After improving the company’s processes, Khan used his life savings and a small business loan to start up his own company, manufacturing a new type of bumper. Within a few years, he bought the company at which he worked and became a top supplier for GM and then, eventually, Toyota. Now Khan is worth $3.8 billion and, in addition to his auto parts empire, is also the owner of an NFL football team, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“There is no question that there’s a connection between one’s drive and search for opportunities and having a foreign beginning,” California real estate magnate Igor Olenicoff told Forbes in 2009. “This is particularly true if your early years were spent in a poor country with a strong class system.” Olenicoff was born in Russia during World War II, and his family fled Communist Russia for Allied-occupied Iran, where he attended an English language school run by missionaries. When Olenicoff was fifteen, his family moved to New York, arriving with only four suitcases and $800, of which they were promptly relieved by muggers. With no money, his family moved west in search of better opportunities and ended up settling in California. Olenicoff studied hard and received degrees in finance and mathematics as well as an MBA from the University of Southern California. After several years of consulting, he launched his own real estate development business. Today, his company owns 6.4 million square feet of office space and 12,000 residential units across California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. His net worth is valued at $2.9 billion.

Indian-born Manoj Bhargava took a more circuitous route to wealth. A math prodigy, he moved to Pennsylvania with his family as a teenager, where he finished high school and attended Princeton University. After one year at Princeton, he dropped out and went back to India to live for twelve years as a monk. When he came back to the United States, he held various jobs: construction cleaning contractor, accounting clerk, printing press operator, and even taxi driver. Then, he started a plastics company, which he grew to over $20 million in sales and later sold to a private equity firm. With the earnings, he founded a consumer products company and created the energy drink “5-Hour Energy” which now accounts for over 90% of the energy shot market. Bhargava is now worth $1.5 billion. With a strong desire to give back to his community, Bhargava set up a charity which receives 45% of his company’s profits and has funded medical research in the United States, as well as over 400 different charities in India, the most notable being hospitals for the underprivileged and education for women in rural areas.

Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang moved from Taiwan to California with his mother at the age of ten, knowing only one word of English: “shoe.” Within three years, he was fluent and placed in advanced classes. He studied diligently and went on to earn both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He created the web search engine as a project with his classmate, David Filo. Quickly realizing its potential, the two postponed their doctoral programs and founded a company. Today, Yang is worth $1.7 billion.

Andrew Cherng was born in China and grew up in Taiwan. When he was fifteen, his family moved to Japan, where his father took a job as a chef. Not seeing great prospects for himself there, Andrew went to the US knowing absolutely no English. He chose a university that did not require him to take the SATs (administered in English) and majored in math, so that language would not be a problem. As a sophomore, he met his future wife, Peggy Tsiang, also a math major recently off the plane from Hong Kong. They both went to graduate school at the University of Missouri-Columbia. After graduating, Andrew first managed his cousin’s restaurant in Hollywood, then took his life savings, borrowed some money from family and friends, and opened his own restaurant in Pasadena, California with his father as chef. The first couple years were tough, with family working various positions, often for free. But then came success. They opened a spinoff of their restaurant as a quick-service Chinese food option in a mall; the restaurant was called Panda Express. Within a few years, they had opened several other locations. Then, Peggy joined the family business, bringing her knowledge of computers and systems expertise. In 1990, she became CEO and, soon after, the company co-chair. Peggy and Andrew continued to innovate and maintain strict quality control of their restaurant chains. “We have an all-in mentality,” Peggy told Fortune in 2013. “Because we’re immigrants, we have a can-do attitude.” Today, Peggy and Andrew operate more than 1,600 restaurants and have a net worth of $2.7 billion. How did they get there? According to Peggy’s interview with Fortune, “Andrew is the visionary who pushes for growth. I like my system process, so I work on how to enable the growth. Being married does not always make working together easy. We had to learn how to resolve business disagreements. It’s not ‘Your way is best’ or ‘My way is best,’ but the alternative way - which incorporates everybody’s ideas - is best.”

Without question, the extra challenges that come with being foreign-born shaped these billionaires’ entrepreneurial spirits and their drive to learn helped them succeed. Besides accounting for over 10% of American billionaires, foreign-born Americans account for one sixth of all small business owners in the United States and naturalized and first-generation Americans make up over one third of all American millionaires. So what’s the secret to actually taking advantage of this land of opportunity? According to these billionaires, you should take chances, work hard, and dream big. Written by Katherine Magalif.

What's New in Online Learning

Some readers may be familiar with any of a handful of online learning platforms. Websites like edX, Coursera, and Udemy allow users to enroll in online courses for free or for a small fee. Current trends on these sites seem to focus on courses in computer science (e.g., “Learning Oracle 12c” and “Pattern Oriented Software Architecture”), self-improvement (e.g., “Becoming a Resilient Person” and “Double Your Productivity), healthcare (e.g., “Fundamentals of Immunology”), business (e.g., “Supply Chain Management”), and ethics (e.g., “Social Science of Wrongful Conviction”). For anyone who has not taken an online class, trying out one of these free courses is a great way to test the waters and explore. Experienced and novice online learners who are ready to pursue a degree can take their online learning to the next level by enrolling in courses with VIU Online (online.viu.edu). Courses recently offered include “International Marketing,” “Web Development Methods,” “Teaching with Technology,” “Business Ethics & Law,” and dozens of others in the fields of business, computer science, education, public and international affairs, and ESL.

How to Win at Life: Get a Mentor

There is a story of a king who had three sons. To determine his successor, he asked them this simple question: How do you avoid making a serious mistake? The first son answered, “by making the mistake at least twice and then learning from it,” but the King called him foolish. The second son answered that he would learn from making a mistake just once, yet the king also called him foolish. The third son answered that he would learn from others that have made mistakes before, so that he would not make the same mistake, and the king made him the prince.  This is why you need a mentor; he/she prevents you from making the same mistakes that they have already made.
Most of us can look back on our lives and identify a person who had a significant and positive impact on us.
This person may have been a teacher, a boss, a spiritual leader, or a parent, and somewhere on our journey this person acted as a mentor. Not surprising, many companies are embracing the concept of mentoring as a professional development tool. Organizations are experiencing dramatic improvements in efficiency, productivity and retention through their mentoring programs.
A mentor is an individual with more professional experience in your field who offers you career guidance, counsel, advice and assistance from a real point-of-view based on his/her lived experiences. Mentorship is not only limited to your career; you could have a spiritual mentor, a relationship mentor, or a financial mentor.  An effective mentor is reflective, wise, understanding and willing to share his or her knowledge and experience in order to help you avoid mistakes and become successful. Having a mentor is like having a wonderful trusted ally to go to whenever you are feeling unsure or in need of support. A good mentor can also help you set and achieve career goals, make smart business decisions, overcome workplace challenges, learn new skills or simply offer an outside perception, network, discover new opportunities, as well as prepare you for an interview.
Finding the right mentor is probably one of the best career decisions you will ever make. There are lots of ways to find a mentor. If you are already working at a company, check to see if your company has a mentoring program, and if you’re not working, ask your friends and family members to introduce you to potential mentors. Organizations like SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) has a database of retired executives from diverse industries and backgrounds who are willing to mentor. The easiest way to look for a mentor is to look around your workplace or your industry. Look for a person you admire and respect, a person whose insight, experience and perceptiveness you value. Most people are flattered to be asked to mentor, so go ahead and ask. When you are unsure of your decisions, when you need someone to simply encourage you, or to lean on – you need a mentor. By Dr. Stephen Onu.

Ideal Language Learning Experience

International students come to the United States mostly to learn or improve their English proficiency as well as to experience American life. In the Washington, DC area, VIU’s affordable, high quality ESL program attracts many students from all over the world. We asked Haimedaha Brahim, who is currently pursuing his graduate degree, how he recalls his time in the ESL program.

“It was an effective program that was also fun! First of all, class sizes were small, which allowed easy access to teachers and unlimited student interaction. The ESL faculty puts tremendous effort into their students’ learning and is always there for students. I know that as a result of this program, I have gained the necessary skills and confidence to pursue my graduate studies.

My favorite memories at VIU were going on trips to some of the most gorgeous and popular places on the East Coast, which left all of us students with special memories. One of the things students like best about VIU’s language program is that there are no requirements for TOEFL or IELTS scores for students coming from abroad.

My cousin, who has been living in the United States for over 10 years, was the one who told me about VIU. I trusted his choice and that trust paid off. I absolutely recommend VIU to everyone who is looking for an affordable, flexible, caring, and, most importantly, high-quality education. It is a great place to start working toward a career.

It is a great opportunity to come to the US and build a life on your own and chase your dreams. I am still on my way to accomplishing my dreams. It has been going very well, and I am so happy about my choice in coming to the US. Today, I am planning to go back home and try to boost my country forward. I wish I could live here, but my country needs me more!

Haimedaha Brahim comes from Mauritania, which is located in north-west Africa. It has a small population and most of the country is Sahara.

Culture Shock!

All of our students agree that coming to America was an amazing experience. The excitement of a new country, the warm and friendly people and especially all the wonderful opportunities available in the United States really drew them to the country. However, there were some confusing encounters, too. Follow along with them, as they experience culture shock!

"Coming to North America was a very fun experience to me, especially seeing the enormous buildings and the change of language! But I really miss the small-town feel of everyone knowing each other and celebrating the holidays together in the streets that I had back in Colombia. Also, when they call you by your name, it means they are mad at you, where here in the US, people just call you by your name after you meet them. I think the most remarkable difference is in the order and progress that is here in the US." Veronica Enriquez, Colombia



"I felt so intimidated; did not want to leave my house for the first two months! Also, using public transportation was a difficult adjustment, because the schedules here are fixed. The biggest cultural shock for me was where to shop for food. At home, I never had to worry about what I could eat, but here, I have to take more time to do it." Sameh Alraye, Jordan

"I did not experience as much culture shock. Here, I am with my brother and we support each other. I still miss everything back home, especially around the holidays. My friends here are great, and VIU has so many activities for us here. I did have to learn to be on time here in the US though!" Sanda Rahanta, Madagascar








"Anybody who has lived in a foreign country may experience differences in what their new culture considers important as well as the different values of that nation. I learned to make my own decisions without being reliant on my parents. Moreover, I made a lot of friends who helped me alleviate homesickness and improved my communication skills." Nafisa Ismailova, Uzbekistan






"Looking back at that time almost everything that I experienced falls under culture shock! The huge food portions, Americans’ everyday routines, and the wide roads - everything had a very different vibe about it. I was really amazed by the way Americans lived their lives, which was very organized. Punctuality was a huge issue that I had to deal with when I came to University as a freshman. Back in Nepal, we are never expected to be on time no matter what the appointment or the meetings are. Here, it was totally different. I missed my dinner twice in the cafeteria because I was two minutes late. I was amazed by the fact that part of our grades was based on being on time and attending class. It took a while to adjust, but, eventually, it became a norm of life. When I look back, it makes me feel grateful because it has shaped who I am today." Pooza Bastakoti, Nepal

Studying with Diverse Students Gave Me Such Opportunities

ASSUMPTIONS ARE IN OUR NATURE, ESPECIALLY STEREOTYPES ABOUT OTHER NATIONALITIES. HOWEVER, STEREOTYPES ARE OFTEN WRONG, AND SOMETIMES EVEN THE OPPOSITE ENDS UP BEING TRUE.

Nina (right) smiles with her friends, fellow VIU graduates

This often happens in an international university like VIU, where students’ perceptions of each other’s cultures change drastically over time. Before arriving in the US, students had different perspectives about one another’s countries, cultures, and living environments. As they meet, study, and even live together, students start to realize the actual cultural differences and life styles of other nationalities. Below are some of our students’ actual experiences. Follow along and see if your perceptions of other cultures also change!

Studying in a university with diverse students from different parts of the world gave me the opportunity to learn more about their countries and their cultural, educational, and social backgrounds. This is different from listening to world news or sitting in a class about international politics, world history, or cultural perspectives. I learned from natives of countries and not by listening to newscasters or doing research on international websites.
I have been exposed to diversity all my life. I was born in United States, but I grew up abroad. I received both my elementary and secondary education alongside students from all over the world. My parents are also from different countries. I chose to study at VIU because I wanted to learn from students and faculty members what it is like to be an international student on a visa and to try to make sense of what my father went through when he came in the mid-1960s on a visa to study in the United States. I found VIU when I was researching affordable graduate schools offering good MA, ME, or TESOL programs and which do not require GRE or GMAT scores in order to be accepted. Particularly, I choose the TESOL program because I had already gained experience in tutoring students from different countries through volunteer work and had done my student teaching. Marching with other VIU students at the Memorial Day Parade in Falls Church, VA, attending the presentation on Mongolia, and the Diwali celebration on campus, are a few of the university events I very much enjoyed.
I have learned from my classes to be open to a lot of ideas. I have also sharpened my teaching skills and learned to utilize resources to be creative in preparing lesson plans and activities for students. I am now confident in helping students to achieve their specific goals in using their English skills for the rest of their lives. Written by Nina Nwaobilo.

Professor of the Year 2014

UM: First of all, congratulations on your academic achievements, the success of the conference, and for receiving VIU’s Professor of the Year award. What do you like best about being a professor, especially in an international university?

"Everyone at this university dreams big!" says Dr. Rebecca Sachs

RS: Thank you very much! What a humbling experience it was to receive this sort of recognition. One of the best things about being a professor at VIU is the inspiration I get from everyone else who works and studies at this university. I’ve been so impressed with the developments at VIU in such a short time I’ve been here: an inaugural conference, multiple speaker series, new academic programs, career fairs, and more. I see such passion, ambition, and long-term vision among my colleagues, and I was astounded by how many members of the VIU community put their efforts toward helping to make the School of Education’s conference a success – we had more than 60 volunteers! There’s really a sense that we’re all in this together, and it’s easy to be dedicated when you’re surrounded by people who set the bar so high.
And not to state the obvious, but interacting with students from all over the world is a luxury. Every day, I’m surrounded by proactive, fascinating people who are taking risks and challenging themselves to pursue admirable goals, often related to improving life back home based on the knowledge they’ve gained. As a teacher, every year a whole new set of students enters my life, bringing with them a whole new set of perspectives and a whole new set of reasons for me to work on expanding my own mindset and improving myself so that I can try to keep up with all the developments they’re showing! Being constantly surrounded by the drive to learn and grow is pretty energizing.

UM: You have experience at Georgetown, American University, and several other prestigious universities. What was the reason that you chose to be a part of VIU’s family?

RS: I first heard about VIU from Dr. Ana-María Nuevo, a friend and colleague from Georgetown who has taught in VIU’s TESOL program. She mentioned how rewarding it was to work here, and, knowing that so many students at VIU have learned English as an additional language, I was very excited about the prospect of being able to combine my experiences as an ESL teacher with my knowledge of applied linguistics while also helping international students get accustomed to academic expectations and writing conventions in the United States while teaching content courses in linguistics, language acquisition, research methods, and other topics I’m passionate about. I also wanted to get more involved in teacher training, and I was intrigued by the possibility of gaining exposure to such a wide variety of previous educational experiences among the pre- and in-service teachers in VIU’s School of Education.
More generally, I was also very impressed by VIU’s mission statement and philosophy, which highlight the importance not only of academic and professional excellence, but also of values such as integrity, open-mindedness, compassion, collaboration, generosity, and service. During the interview process, it was already clear to me that people here really do take VIU’s motto of “building the future together” seriously, and I was attracted by the fact that VIU is able to make a high-quality education so affordable and accessible to people from all over the world. As it turns out, I now have a lot more reasons to want to be part of VIU’s family, but those were the initial ones.

UM: A “can-do” attitude permeates VIU’s School of Education, as was evidenced by its successful conference. Educators cannot wait to see what the School of Education will do next. What, in your mind, are the next projects, overall goals, or innovations?  

RS: I’m very excited to join Kevin Martin and other SED faculty in announcing that we will be hosting our second Conference on Language, Learning, & Culture on April 9-11, 2015, with a focus on best practices and emerging trends in assessment. We hope that bringing people together to share ideas in this area will help educators, policy makers, and community members to reconceptualize how assessment can work toward meeting the needs and achieving the goals of all stakeholders.
For the Fall semester, we’re planning an Education Summit on the Common Core standards, and we’ll also be continuing with our monthly Voices from the Field Speaker Series, in which we invite local community leaders, teachers, language program administrators, and other visionaries in the field of education to give practical advice, raise our students’ awareness of new trends, and expose them to opportunities for hands-on experience, professional development, and volunteering.
One of our goals in the SED is to promote more research on campus, and with the recent launch of our Master of Science program in Applied Linguistics, I can’t wait to see what sorts of original research will come out of VIU as our students pursue their thesis projects. Among my own projects, the one I’m most excited about at the moment is a collaborative action-research study on pre- and in-service teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and needs regarding training in pronunciation instruction, which is often neglected in teacher-preparation programs. Our MA TESOL program is already innovative in offering a course focused specifically on that topic, and I hope the results of this study will produce research-based recommendations for improving our curriculum even further in ways that are both tailored to our student population and attractive to prospective students who can’t find these sorts of courses elsewhere.