So, I grew up in Karachi Pakistan and then we moved to New Jersey
when I, basically around 2004 2005 when I was around 13 years old.
I remember one of the key moments was at high school graduation, you know my name
gets called for a scholarship. And I and I had no idea what it was for and they
say the scholarship is for overcoming adversity, and it was sort of a way for
me to reflect back on at that point six years being in the US and where I
started with and where I had come. And I knew at the time that there was still a
long way to go.
I'm Hussein's elder brother some may say
the better brother. This is my daughter, she's not interested in this movie.
Some people say Hussein was allergic to a lot of food when he was young,
I think he was just spoiled.
I'm Hussain's Mom. I just want to say I'm proud of him.
I won't say now he's a confident young man, but he was born confident.
You feed them grow them room them and today, we are seeing the fruit of that already,
that's wonderful, I'm so proud of him.
So, we're supposed to say good things, right? Uhhh...
So coming to Michigan was again saying let's pull you out, let's pull yourself out of the comfort zone
just like you did when you moved to the US and let's get better through it and so being
here was different because you didn't know anybody here
you weren't surrounded by people that were all like you, so now you're with
people that are from the UP or from Canada or from California etcetera and
very different ideas, very different backgrounds and you learn from them.
Of course my name being Hussein and being from Pakistan there are obstacles and
challenges that come with that. This is a message to everyone that those are
things that you shouldn't let get in your way as you are on your way to succeed.
The one thing that any student really hopes for in any institution is
at least just the avenue to pursue their passions. You may not be handed
everything but at least the opportunities will be provided to you and I
think U of M does that really well. If you wanted to do global stuff you can
there are eight or nine countries that you can travel to through the University of
Michigan School of Dentistry. If you wanted to do research we get the
highest amount of funding in research of any dental school. If you wanted to be
more education minded there's an elective for that and there are mentors
that are ready to just mentor you.
One of the experiences I had in Kenya that
stayed with me has been being at a school that we go to regularly and so
our last night there we're out in there and they're in their Park, it's a boarding
school so they have a bedtime so we were just trying to have as much fun as possible.
One of us was playing music and these kids were just having a ball so
we're all dancing together and just having a great time, all that anxiety of
being seen by dentists has gone away and we've just formed these instant
relationships with like hundreds of kids that we share so little with at times
and then comes their bedtime and they all have to now go back to
their rooms and so we follow some of them back into their rooms and of course
they don't want to go back and then we step into one or two of the rooms and
guess what: they're all brushing their teeth. And it's such a small thing but
it's such a powerful thing to see that maybe for a little bit you've made a difference.
We ended up, I mean we got so many hugs trying to just get out of the
dorm and then we all got into our little van, the ten of us got in a car and left
and that was the end of a week, our first week in Kenya and all of us left
that place crying. Not because we felt bad for anybody, it was honestly just we
knew that there was so much that we take for granted on a regular basis and
there's so much that they don't have, but for those 24 hours or 48
hours we were able to share their lives or share our lives together and you may
not see those kids again but you had that experience and you can keep
that experience with you for a long time. That sort of that that love that you get
from the kids is something that is really hard to find otherwise.
He's probably one of the most motivated, confident men that I know. You know,
everything that he puts his mind to he does. So we're super proud of him
and we know he's going to do great things in his life.
And, uh, he's a bit of a brat.
But overall, he's like really super hard-working he's
pretty much a self-made man he's really dedicated and does all on his own, so I'm
really proud of him.
He's done a tremendous amount of work to get here so we're very very proud.
I think the message coming out of all this is
sometimes you go through hardships that at the time seem like they're really
setting you back but sometimes those things are exactly what, you know, lead
you to be successful also. So take every challenge and obstacle that
you face with a sense of optimism that you know what, I'm going to make the best
out of what I have and sometimes the best does come out of those things.