In October 1984, I enlisted in the Navy straight out of high school in a small town in Southeast Georgia. After serving aboard the USS Francis Hammond (FF-1067) in Yokosuka, Japan (the land of my mother), I applied for a commissioning program and the Navy awarded me a scholarship to the University of Florida where …
Category Archives: University
Five Qualities of the Diaspora
There were two milestones I needed to achieve in order to complete my MBA — a new venture capstone project and a study abroad trip to compare and contrast cultures, business practices, and management styles. In the spring semester of 2012, I enrolled in a six-week course entitled Engaging Diaspora Communities for International Business and …
Pedicabber
The following weekend, Zach and I were in my Subaru Baja, driving at full speed on the N.J. Turnpike to NYC. “Why are we driving up to the Big Apple just to pick up a damn rickshaw?” Zach asked incredulously. “Segways are all the rage on the Mall.” “So we can hang signage promoting …
RUNIN — the Theme
RUNIN is not exactly about the joys (or pain) of running. It’s not about running out of food either. Did you realize that RUNIN is actually a back acronym? Huh? Let’s take a look at the qualities of the Ethiopian Diaspora. They were all Resourceful in surviving tough living conditions and eventually found success in …
Vapiano
I applied for the GWU Business Plan competition in 2011 and 12 with high hopes that perseverance would pay off. After all, I had a couple of notches such as Startup Weekend in my belt, and unlike the vast majority of applicants, I actually had a real business that was gaining traction. April 1 2012 …
Apollo’s Flight
DC is a town full of festivals, and there’s no better time to celebrate festivals than in the summer. I had the perfect companion to attend my annual Folklife Festival, Capital Pride and Fiesta Asia. Apollo loved everyone and sang in front of Embassies and he was the character. I should have put Apollo as …
Best of DC
We applied for the GWU Business Plan competition three times, hoping that indeed the third and last time was the charm. Unfortunately, all the leprechauns in the world could not help us. Each time, we advanced to the semifinals, but the finals turned out to be our tough mudder. The second time, was the most …
Patriots’ Day
We were conducting routine flight operations off the balmy coast of Southern California — in the distance stood the coastal mountain range of Santa Ana where the blistery, dry winds blew from deep within. On that gray September day, I woke up like any other, and switched on the remote to see whether the Atlanta Braves still …
A Site is Born
During the spring of 2010, I enrolled in Professor Richard Donnelly’s New Ventures Class at the George Washington University (GWU) School of Business. Students had to create ideas for a new venture, form groups of four and present the idea to the entire class at the end of the semester. My teammates were Daniel Lonnerdal, …
The Tower
I enrolled in the Executive MBA program, and before the semester started, our cohort of 20 eager students embarked on a five-day retreat at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA. Our team coaching sessions led by Professor James Bailey didn’t require PowerPoint or pointers but still had everything to do with leadership development — …