"Our family left Iraq one night in 2006 and fled to Lebanon. I worked 24/7 to save enough money to open a store there too and make the business work. I didn't sleep a lot---just a little here and there when I could.
"Then, in 2009, we came to the U.S. I'm an Apple engineer now with an electronics company. I also work in customer service and customer tech with my dad's company, buy and sell online, and sell in the open market on weekends. I work hard to help my family and because I want to build up a business. I'm 23 now, and I'd like to get to the point when I'm older---40 or so---that I won't have to work this hard. Hopefully, one day when I get married and have children, they'll have time to focus on their education. I went to school, but honestly, getting an education wasn't really my main concern. I was too busy working."