A Beckoning Seat at the Table by Matthew

A Beckoning Seat at the Table by Matthew - August 2024 Scholarship Essay

My first exposure to business came at a young age, buried in the depths of my grandmother’s velvet couches, hearing my Iraqi father, grandfather, and uncles discuss the family business over tea. I would sit idly for hours listening to conversations about their business activities, as if nothing else in the world existed. Looking back, I realize that these discussions served as their boardroom meetings where goals were set, risks were calculated, points-of-view debated. Interestingly, my mother’s Moroccan-side also operated their small business affairs in a very similar way and for a long time, this unsophisticated lens was all I knew about ‘business.’ What I now realize is that they had very limited options, as both sides of my family were independently forced out of their native country, leaving everything behind but for, as my Baba says, ‘the wanting to live.’

Two generations later, one might be surprised to learn that not much has changed. Most of my uncles, aunts, and even my generationally equivalent cousins still work in those family businesses. And though I am grateful that my immediate family prioritizes education, the opportunity to represent something much larger than myself by pursuing a proper education in a competitive business program is not lost on me. In fact, the sounds are deafening as to any other option. Within the confines of my dual cultures, education cannot compete with the immediate need to support oneself at sixteen, as so many of my cousins have done. I believe that I have a unique opportunity to change all that. To be the Iraqi at the table and set an example. To show my future Moroccan nieces and nephews that, with the work ethic our grandparents instilled in us, dreams are within reach.

I pray for such an opportunity. I hope I serve it properly.