Samie Sabet-Sarvestani
For Samie Sabet-Sarvestani, education isn’t simply an opportunity – it’s a treasure.
Growing up in Iran as a member of a Baha’i family, Samie endured discrimination. His grandfather died in prison and his father was limited in his choice of occupation, all because of their Baha’i faith. In school, Samie passed all the required tests but was not allowed to participate in a talented and gifted program. Samie’s parents realized they had to leave Iran if he was going to get a proper education and have a chance to go to college.
They sold all of their possessions and fled to Turkey. As refugees, his parents weren’t allowed to work, no one in the family spoke Turkish and they were emotionally exhausted from leaving behind everything they knew. But for the first time, they were allowed to openly practice their religion and to pursue learning.
During these months as a refugee, Samie studied hard and helped others. He was active in the Baha’i community in the new hometown, Kayseri. He started a class to teach English and organized a theater workshop for refugee children.
After being interviewed several times by the United Nations and the American Embassy, Samie and his family were allowed to immigrate to Dallas where he began his studies at Richland College in the spring of 2007.
Today, Samie’s dreams are coming true. He works a part-time job as a student assistant in the RLC Library and works another part-time job at night at Wal-Mart. On top of that, he’s completing a 96-hour internship in a CVS pharmacy. Despite this grueling schedule, Samie maintains a 3.8 GPA. He’s a member of Phi Theta Kappa student honor society and a recipient of a DCCCD scholarship.
This summer, Samie completed Richland’s Pharmacy Technician program and passed the test to become a certified pharmacy technician. His future plans include pursuing a bachelor’s degree in medical technology and completing a graduate degree in pharmacy.
“Samie brings an attitude of joy to all that he pursues,” says Sharlee Jeser-Skaggs, Samie’s nominator. “He loves learning and takes pleasure in helping others learn. Samie exemplifies student success."