I was born in Uganda, of Indian descent. My mother passed away when I was young and five years later, my father remarried. Our family immigrated to the U.S. in 1972, eventually settling in Lawndale. I was fluent in English, but awkward when it came to American culture and education. My father graduated high school in Kenya, but attended only a year or two of college. My stepmother was a seamstress who spoke little English, her education cut short when she moved to Uganda from India. My older brother enrolled at El Camino College, but dropped out to support the family when my father died just two weeks before my junior year. Back then there was no internet, just rotary dial phones and dated encyclopedias. I was left to figure things out for myself. I graduated from Leuzinger in 1977. I had spent much of high school in the safe haven of our school newspaper, getting decent enough grades to avoid drawing attention. I remember always wanting to attend UCLA, without really knowing what that meant. It wasn’t until I started filling out the application as a senior that I understood. At that point, the best I could do mathematically was a 3.34 GPA. UCLA’s minimum requirement was 3.4.
I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Instead of becoming a Bruin, I attended El Camino College for two years before transferring to Cal State Fullerton to complete my bachelors. Later, I earned an MBA from UC Irvine and went on to enjoy a successful career across several sectors and disciplines. I was able to beat the odds on multiple fronts and not long ago, I embarked on a new career. I came back to Leuzinger and created CARS to help others do the same.
