Contents
Pg.3
About the author
Pg.6-11
First
Part Passion 2 Pg.12-13 1Parts delicious
Pg.14-15 6 Core Bikers
About the Author
Hello! I’m Diego Rivera. Not the painter, Not the other millions of people that are named Diego Rivera. I am me and have my own unique characteristics. I’m a huge bike nerd and love to learn about the stories of people and the adversity they have faced. Someday I aspire to work in education particularly in helping underrepresented students. I have a bunch of other miscelaneous things I could say about myself but that sounds like agood description of me.
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PROFILE
MAY 22. 2018
From his upbringing in Lahore, Pakistan, all the way to you’re able to have a good income and studying with the medical association on the campus of the successful, you can support that.” University of Iowa, Nasir has never forgotten the people that helped him get to where he is now. Although presented with more opportunity once Nasir and his family immigrated to the “My parents tried to work as much as they could to give United States, it has been no cakewalk for us the best education possible. Both my parents didn’t him and his family. Having moved to Keokuk, even go to high school so they didn’t really know where Iowa then Rushville, Illinois, a town of 3000 to put us. There was a school right across the street called people, him and his family faced a plethora of Shrifod and it was known to be a pretty good school but adversity. we couldn’t afford it so my dad would leave the country through visas and work in restaurants in Spain and other “My parents still don’t speak English fluplaces around the globe to save up money to send back to ently and have foreign-sounding names and us and then my mama would take that money out and put that’s really difficult for them. We lived in a that all towards our education.” really small town and had to deal with a lot of racism, a lot of prejudices, you know. It’s Nasir is not one to take any opportunity he gets for just really tough to be a minority and live in a granted. Instilled through the experiences of his parents, small town.” the Pakistani culture of working as hard as possible to be able to support your family resonates deeply in him. Despite all of these hurdles Nasir and his family faced to establish themselves in the “In Pakistani culture, you can’t really look for anyone to U.S, Nasir continued to have a burning desire support you[...] you have to stand on your own feet, so to educate himself and find a way to prosper you can support your own family. For example, when I get so he could support his family. older, it’s my responsibility to take care of my mom and dad and my siblings, we’re all in one house. So if you’re able to have a good income and successful, you can support that.” “In Pakistani culture, you can’t really look for anyone to support you[...] you have to stand on your own feet, so you can support your own family. For example, when I get older, it’s my responsibility to take care of my mom and dad and my siblings, we’re all in one house. So if
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Nasir relied heavily on peers and guidance counselors in high school for information on college about college planning. One person, in particular, Nasir recalls helping him a lot with the college process was his guidance counselor Mr. Whent.
PROFILE
MAY 22 2018
“He actually went to all my college visits with me, my parents didn’t even know they could go, they were working a lot of the time. A lot of it was me asking questions, finding mentors getting their advice and going from there.”
“That was really that was really instrumental Although Nasir’s parents weren’t able to help him with to figuring out what my niche was in college. I Immersed myself in that culture and through the college admission process, that didn’t mean they weren’t constantly motivating him to continue his educa- that I was able to like find other opportunities like Iowa edge, I was able to branch out and you tion. know meet my fraternity and meet MAPS” “My parents really motivated me to go college because of[..] that gotta support yourself, gotta support the family, you got to be successful kind of mentality. The mentality of this opportunity given in the United States you’re not going to find in Pakistan or in other countries so don’t waste it. Having that motivation of my parents constantly pushing forward even though they didn’t know what to say really helped[...] and that was enough for me to find my own find path.”
Nasir just finished his final year on the medical track and is now headed off to medical school. The foundation of his passion for the medical field all comes back to his roots.
“Growing up as an undocumented immigrant most my life really got me interested, we didn’t have health insurance and seeing what that did to my mom, my dad and my family made me Mentors and peers continued to drive Nasir as he gained want to help people like us. My parents supadmittance to the University of Iowa. Nasir gives thanks ported me to go into the medical field because in particular to Gabriela Rivera, the ex-assistant director my mom and dad always told me you to do something where you can be your own boss. Do of the Center for Diversity and Enrichment, and Iowa Edge, a diversity program at the UI, for helping him settle something where you know you get a good education and you can make a difference.” into college life at Iowa. “It was really hard at first because my parents dropped me off and I was like, crap now what do I do? You know, but the most the most important part was that I found a program, Iowa Edge, and through that program, I ended up meeting [Gabriela] and she was a great mentor of mine. She really helped. I know for a fact that I would not be where I am had I not met her.” There was one more thing keeping Nasir from accessing all the aid he could: his residence status. At the time of his college visits and admission, Nasir was under DAKA status and that prevented him from receiving aid from many programs at the UI, including the Center for Diversity and Enrichment; but they made an exception.
Nasir plans on pursuing a job in the medical field and later partaking in Doctors Without Borders to help people who don’t have the help they need. Ultimately he plans on working in the United States but Nasir’s aid will reach far and wide as his passion for helping those who don’t have resources to help continue to drive him “I believe that any human any has a right to receive medical help. In places like South America, Central America and the middle east most people don’t have any access to healthcare and I’m going to do what I can to help out there because you know, you can’t forget your roots.”
“My full name is An-Charlie Thanh Lam-lu and I am Vietnamese American.”
Born In Iowa City, IA and educated at Iowa City West High, Charlie Lam-lu ‘18 at first glance seems like any other student with a passion. What most, along with Lam-lu himself for awhile, don’t know, is the story of his family. “My father is a Vietnamese refugee, my mother is a Vietnamese immigrant. My father was actually born in “They were not enough because if they had been 1963,[..] the first official year of the American-Vietmy father wouldn't have had to quit college after a namese war.” year and a half or less because he had to find enough Lam-lu’s father having left Vietnam to simply survive work to put my uncle in a comfortable position in had to establish himself from the ground up when he life[...] My mother would have been able to get an arrived in the United States. Due to diversity programs education further than high school if they'd been and refugee aid in Iowa City Lam-lu’s father was able enough, they wouldn't have spent the last 20 to 30 years trying and trying as best they could. But never to be helped start anew. quite succeeding which is an unhappy thing to realize for their chil“Because of those programs My father was enrolled dren.” into high school he learned English they connected him with other refugee families so that he could talk to Lam-lu’s childhood was very much so sheltered them and also so they could lodge with them and his case, in particular, was distinct because his teachers from the struggles that his family faced but there actually ended up reaching out to him and providing were inevitably moments that he would end up being able to recall as he got older. him extra assistance.” These programs although extremely helpful to many “My parents were very afraid of me growing up disdain for not having money we when we moved. was not sufficient Lam-lu says. Eventually, funding dried up for these programs and aid for those part of [...]In fact, we were very poor. My earliest memories are of taking trips to this building where there these programs slowed to a crawl. was free food and my mom would walk me down the aisles and just point at things and we'd pick up what we needed and and it was only years later that I realized it was a food pantry.” Although Lam-lu was living in a reality where trips to the food pantry, his parents working three or more jobs at a time combined, and his family dealing with the difficulties of being immigrants, he didn’t take notice to it for a long time. “I had a very different childhood from my siblings[...] my parents worked back-breakingly for for 10 plus years to give me not only the comfort that I have but the shielding from the discomfort that they had”
Lam-lu’s parents worked/are working their hardest to provide Lam-lu with a quality education so he can prosper. When asked about what motivated him to continue on to college Lam-lu responded with, “there’s a lot of importance placed on higher education in my family like a very significant degree. If I were not to pursue college that would cause a pretty big rift” Lam-lu is currently trying to clear one last hurdle to get into Macalester College: Payment. As for what Lam-lu plans to pursue all comes back to his family and the programs that helped his dad. “I want to do what I can to make sure that the ideas and the beliefs and the concepts that people who ran those programs 30 years ago 40 years ago are upheld but improved upon because they didn’t approach it in any abnormally naive way. They didn’t approach it in a way that expected too much out of the world, but they did approach it in a way that ultimately was not enough. My hope is that I can understand how they did it and maybe reach people before three decades past and all the hope is gone.” Lam-lu plans on pursuing political science in college with a focus on international policy and double majoring with economics in the hope that one day, he can help a family that’s in the same position he is in now.
“My hope is that I can understand how they did it and maybe reach people before three decades past and all the hope is gone.”
1 Part Passion 2 Parts Delicious An executive chef, sous chef, cook and grill master all walk into a room. To the common person, these terms are synonymous; they all cook your food. Although that is true, they each hold very distinct, key differences that give them the title they have. To use a job title to describe another is kind of like using a pen for a multiple choice exam. It still makes a mark on your paper, but it’s not going to be graded as well as if you used a number two pencil. So what makes Beau Ketchum the executive chef for Hy Vee foods? ”Anyone who has hands can cook,” Ketchum said. “If you’ve got instructions and you know how to read, you can make a solid meal. What sets a chef apart is the ability to interpret those instructions and give that dish the taste of passion.” Ketchum sticks to the idea that you really don’t need a bunch of culinary education to be a chef; what you really need is a passion for food. ”You gotta be a little bit crazy,” Ketchum said. “The best chefs know how to turn the strangest items into the best tasting food.” and that’s exactly why his life as a chef and food enthusiast all began in a matter of one episode of “Top Chef.” Ketchum describes this episode where these professional chefs cooked using ingredients from a vending machine. “To see what they made from that to the plates absolutely blew me away and there was this little moment of ,
I’m interested in that. I went to make breakfast for my wife the next day and like kinda looked at the cupboard and pulled stuff out and made this pierogi thing and barbecue sauce here and bacon and played it all crazy and she tried it and loved it and that’s when I really knew.” Just like how his interest for cooking was sparked by his wife’s enjoyment of what he cooked, Ketchum is still driven today by seeing people enjoy his culinary creations. “It’s kinda like when you win the championship. You feel it in your heart. You feel in your soul.” Ketchum takes pride in people telling him that his food reminds them of the food they were made as a kid. “When you take them back somewhere, take them back to their grandma’s house that’s like one of the best compliments you can get.”
Although Ketchum loves the positive feedback he gets from people, it’s not always full bellies and smiles for Ketchum. “I’ve learned to accept unhappy people. You just can’t make a meal that tastes good to everyone.” At first Ketchum explained that he would take these remarks very personally but overtime has learned to deal with criticism of his food. Insatiable customers can be difficult to deal with but this is isn’t the hardest thing about being a chef in Ketchum’s eyes. “Your ego being checked is a very common occurrence in the kitchen. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’re better than everyone because you’re the head chef.” Although Ketchum is in a position where he leads culinary projects that doesn’t exempt him from knowing how all the other positions function. In the execution of a new recipe there comes a process for Ketchum: Think about the recipe, test it out, finding out if it can be produced for many and then figuring out how much things should cost. In that process Ketchum consults several other people but when it comes down to it, he is the one that has to know how to do all of these things. Despite the difficulties of working this leading position, Ketchum is deeply passionate about what he does. “I’m always thinking about food even after I get home from work. There’s never really a time when I’m not thinking about food and I think that’s what passion for food truly means.”
The 6 Core Bik
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N EWS
FEB. 17, 2017
• • • • •
The Road Biker
Fast and Proud Lightweight “Yeah I spent $4,000 on these wheels” “Lets bike up that mountain” Espresso
The Mountain Biker
• “Do you ride 26 or 29 in tires?” • “SEND IT!!!” • Constantly talks about how gnarly the trails were
The Fat-Tire Biker
• Will ride in literally any weather • 5 in tires • “Look at those skinny tires”
kers You’ll Run Into The Cross Rider
• See: picture right • “Yeah I could probably ride that trail” • *rides up verticle grass hill* • *bunny hops 8 in. barrier*
The Fixie Rider
• “Brakes just slow you down” • “Steel is real” • *Rides through NYC without brakes* • *Drifts down mountain on bike*
The Triathalon Rider
• Z O O O O O O O M • *Rides at 30mph for 5 hours straight* • “I need more aerodynamics” • *Swims 2.6 miles, bikes 114 miles, runs marathon* “yeah that wasn’t too bad”
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N EWS
FEB. 17, 2017