INTERVIEW

Could you please share with our readers a short biography of you and your family and your early American journey?

 

My family roots go back to Albania and Kosovo. I was born in Montenegro and moved to Detroit, Michigan with my parents, when I was 2 years old. My parents like most immigrants, moved to the United States for a better life, and to give me greater opportunities and higher levels of education; and for that I will always be grateful. My parents like many immigrants both worked long hours, had multiple jobs and did everything they could to survive and give me a comfortable life growing up. I spent a great part of my life growing up with my mothers family. My mom would drop me off at my grandma and grandpa's house, where my grandparents and uncles lived, early in the morning and pick me up late at night, long after I had fallen asleep. When I was young, my mother worked as a waitress, this was before she started working as an office manager at medical offices in my later teen years, so my grandfather Mark would drive me to the restaurant she was working at to have lunch, or dinner so I could see her. My dad would often take me to job sites with him on the weekends where he painted different new construction homes, so we could spend time together. This is where I fell in love with watching homes go up and come together. The smell of new construction brings back some really wonderful memories. My parents gave up many opportunities just so they could provide for me and give me a comfortable life. I get my work ethic from them, especially my mom. She never stopped working. My drive is rooted in my dream to one day take care of my parents and give them a comfortable retirement. I want to show them that everything they did and gave up for me and my brother, was for a reason. I owe them so much.