‘I am the American Dream’: Immigration awards recognize courage, resilience

The 2024 Catherine McAuley Center (CMC) Immigration & Business Luncheon and Awards celebrated and recognized the contributions of immigrants to the local community and workforce, emphasizing their resilience, entrepreneurial spirit, and cultural diversity. The Radisson Hotel Cedar Rapids, 1200 Collins Rd., saw a packed house on Thursday, Feb. 29, as Corridor community members turned out en masse to support the award winners. Linn Mar High School Venture Academics Behavioral Science students were in attendance for the workshop portion prior to the award ceremony. Alyssa McDowell, Linn Mar Venture Academics strategic partner coordinator, said it’s important for students to learn about different types of experiences and perspectives from members of the community. “It’s a fabulous opportunity,” said Chelsea Dill, psychology and sociology teacher at Linn Mar, of the event. “(Students) have a lot to learn about their community, and this is just one facet.” She said prior to the event, a student in attendance had never been face-to-face or heard directly from a refugee or immigrant, and appreciated the chance to hear what they had to say. “Immigrants contribute positively to our region socially, culturally and economically, and help us solve our workforce issues,” said Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssauly, who emceed the event. “I would like to think I’m an example.”

Mayor AbouAssaly immigrated to the United States from Beirut in 1975 when he was eight years old, escaping the civil war that plagued his country. He had a strong support network in extended family that already lived in Iowa, and recognized that not all immigrants have that support network to get a successful start. “The Catherine McAuley Center gives immigrants the opportunity to become members of our community,” he said. Fear of failure and raising a family while living in two worlds at the same time are familiar feelings he has in common with immigrants. “I know firsthand the courage it takes to leave behind everything familiar to you, and start over in a new land,” said Mayor AbouAssaly. “I know the challenges of navigating and assimilating into a new culture while trying to maintain your own customs, traditions, and the things that make you special and unique. I know fully well the frustrations of being misunderstood, mislabeled, and stereotyped…if anyone doubts that immigrants have a lot to offer our region and nation, I'm here to say we do,” he said, praising their resilience and determination to succeed.

Both Mayor AbouAssaly and Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell took the podium to make proclamations on behalf of their cities, declaring Feb. 29, 2024 to be Immigration and Business Day, encouraging residents to “come together with our neighbors to create a stronger, more connected and inclusive community, and celebrate the contributions of refugees and immigrants to Iowa’s business community and workforce,” said Mayor O’Donnell.

'Dignity and respect'

Keynote speaker Dr. Dau Jok, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for West Des Moines Public Schools, holds many distinctions, but opened his speech saying “I’m here today because someone believed in me.” His foundation, the Dut Jok Youth Foundation, has served more than 2,100 youth in three countries and is currently active in South Sudan, his country of origin, which he touched on during his lecture. Mr. Jok hails from the Dinka tribe in South Sudan, which was colonized by the Turkish and British, giving him a conglomerate of different influences growing up. “The world says our differences are a reason for hate…in order to have relationships that are meaningful, we must center our humanity,” he said, a phrase that was oft-repeated.

Mr. Jok urged the audience to treat each person with dignity and respect, refraining from judgements based on assumptions. “When we build people through single stories, we reduce them to what we know, even though what we know is not based in fact, it's an assumption,” he said, and it’s a mistake to reduce a person or peoples to good/bad dichotomies. When he immigrated to the United States in 2003, he could not speak English and was often skipped during the reading portion of class, referring to the memory as “being robbed of the dignity of trying.” “Continue pushing forward, continue to exercise courage, curiosity, humility, and most of all, continue to believe in yourself,” he exhorted the audience. “Because you're asked to serve – not because you’re perfect, but because you’re human and you deserve all of what humanity has.” Mr. Jok’s speech was met with a standing ovation, followed by the awards ceremony. The awards comprised four categories: Welcoming Workplace award for both Large and Small Companies, Emerging Employee award and Outstanding Business Leader award.

Immigrants helping immigrants

Whirlpool Corporation, of Middle Amana, won the Welcoming Workplace award for Large Company for its “core values of inclusivity and diversity” in supporting a diverse workforce by offering ESL classes and a prayer room for employees. Colin Evers, Whirlpool Human Resource Operations Analyst, accepted on behalf of the company. The Welcoming Workplace award for Small Company went to Hoover Community School, of Cedar Rapids, which currently has student families represented from 20 different countries. The school hires paraprofessionals with the same cultural background and language as immigrant students to help them and their families, as well as establishing strong relationships with community partners who help support the families in different ways. Accepting on behalf of the school were principal Clint Stone and Minouche Bandubuila, community school coordinator, who said the school also added books to the library in languages such as French, Swahili and Spanish, at the request of students. The company awards go to businesses or organizations that “exemplify inclusive, supportive practices in employing and/or advocating for the employment of refugees and immigrants,” according to CMC. Large companies are identified as those with more than 50 employees and are nationally-based, while small companies are locally-owned with fewer than 50 employees. Gloire Sabwira, a case manager with Catholic Charities from Cedar Rapids, was granted the Emerging Employee award, defined by CMC as “an employee with the immigrant experience who demonstrates exemplary service and dedication to their role within an organization.”

Mr. Sabwira’s nominator declared him to be very committed in making an impact in the immigrant community and serving as an advocate for families. “My question was, ‘why me?’” Mr. Sabwira said during his acceptance speech. “I couldn't get an answer to that until today, when I was talking to our administrator – she just said ‘that's your turn.’ What we do is so impactful, he continued. “And we cannot measure the work that we do for our clients.” “It’s amazing to me, I’m very honored. I’m encouraged to see that people in the community see my work,” he told the CBJ. The Outstanding Business Leader award, granted to “an individual with the immigration experience who demonstrates leadership in the business arena,” was given to Aminata Taylor, the founder and CEO of Tailored Tax and Accounting from Iowa City and a former auditor for CMC. Over the past decade, Ms. Taylor has collaborated with numerous nonprofits and small businesses in providing training courses, free consultations and essential accounting assistance to support “underestimated entrepreneurs,” and has worked to empower fellow immigrant entrepreneurs and businesses through financial literacy support.

Growing up in a family of 17 kids in Guinea, Ms. Taylor knew she wanted something more in America, but didn’t want to just survive – she wanted to thrive. “To be able to do that, I had to have people in my corner,” she said. “I wanted to be that person in someone else’s corner, and I knew that was immigrants…I wanted to be able to provide just that inkling of hope for somebody else, just like me.” Ms. Taylor told the CBJ that the award gave her hope. “I am the American dream,” she said, and was humbled by the award, which she originally thought was spam in her email inbox. “I’ve come full circle,” she said, of being CMC’s auditor and eventually becoming a recipient of their award. “It means my work has been recognized.” Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust was the presenting sponsor, and TrueNorth, Transamerica, GreenState Credit Union and Refugee Services of Iowa HHS acted as supporting sponsors.