My name is Valon Suma, I am a freshman at City Tech and will be majoring in Civil Engineering Technology/ Construction Management. To begin, I’ve been a Server at a restaurant for quite some time now, this job allows me to develop great communication skills, I’m also learning how a business is ran, handled, and what it takes in order to outshine other business competitors. Out of all schools even the ones closer to my home, I decided that this college was going to be my pick due to the fact that the major I am interested in cannot be acquired elsewhere. Now that my journey as a college student has just begun, it is now time to set myself up for the near future with a stable career that will guide me and my family to success. I am beyond blessed and thankful for my parents who migrated from former Yugoslavia which is now Montenegro, due to war that was known to be Europe’s deadliest conflict. My parents had to escape the mass genocide, violation of their human rights, and ethnic cleanse that was going on in their own soil. Their goal was to come to America for the opportunities that this land is known for, allowing them to live a better life.
The sacrifices that were made by my parents since the start of it all, I don’t think my sister and I combined will ever be able to fully compensate our Mother and Father for what they have done for us. My sister, who is 2 years older than me, has taught me alot in several different aspects of life. We were both born and raised in New York City, so the environment her and I were brought up in was much different in relation to my parents childhood, also we are first generation coming from our family. Growing up all we knew was to show respect to anybody no matter who they are, be first to give out a helping hand, and maintain a positive attitude. These attributes have stuck with me throughout my life and i feel as if they’re very important factors in finding genuine happiness within myself. Being able to positively impact someone brings me joy that is hard to come by. A few fun facts about myself are that i ride dirtbikes, play basketball, and enjoy challenging myself in ways that will benefit me. To conclude, my main goal is to fully provide for my family and others around me.
Hello Valon, sorry to hear about that war but it’s good to see you and your family is safe. They took risks for you and it’s all going to pay off. Stay motivated and don’t let failure stop you from achieving your goals.
Valon — PLS CORRECT YOUR TITLE!
These are lovely words of tribute to your parents’ sacrifice. Your intro got me interested in your country’s history, so I googled Montenegro. It’s one of the Balkan states. I found this article:
https://theconversation.com/montenegro-was-a-success-story-in-troubled-balkan-region-now-its-democracy-is-in-danger-157288
Tiny Montenegro has long been different from its neighbors in the former Yugoslavia.
After a decade of bloody civil wars that included ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide, Yugoslavia in the 1990s split violently along ethnic lines into six different independent republics. But Montenegro escaped the worst of the war and for years remained with Serbia – its dominant, Russian-allied neighbor – as part of the “rump Yugoslavia.”
In 2006, Montenegrins voted for independence and separated from Serbia peacefully. Montenegro became a stable and inclusive democracy. It is a mountainous, postage-stamp sized country of 640,000 on the eastern Adriatic Sea.
I love learning from my students!