UNO Mavericks
Beautiful day today. One of my closest friends here in Omaha got her Master’s in Computer Science today. It’s her second Master’s Degree actually. Her first was less than 2 years ago ( I think
) She came to Omaha in 2008, got her Bachelor’s degree in Finance at the University of Omaha ( UNO ). She then started work in Hong Kong for 5 years, got burnt out and decided to come back to Omaha to further her studies. While doing her Master’s in Finance, she realized she’d be able to earn more money ( Can’t blame her, she’s Chinese after all. We love money more than anything!
) if she were to pursue a Computer Science Master’s degree. She is really into coding, that’s her passion. Coincidentally, my son is pursuing the same course, albeit he just completed his freshman year. So far so good, he’s enjoying all the opportunities this great country is giving him.
Coming back to my friend, she worked hard to get where she is today. She doesn’t come from a rich family. She found ways to support herself all these years, taking out a loan back in Malaysia and worked during college days. She got to do her Master’s degrees for free by being a Graduate Assistant.
Her mom, younger brother and an Italian good friend ( he flew all the way from Italy! ) attended her graduation in December 2012. However, this time around, she had none of them by her side and she nearly didn’t make the walk today…
After much persuasion from her few friends ( moi included
) she changed her mind 
Another good Malaysian friend of ours brought her son along. He’s studying at UNO too. My son was supposed to join us but couldn’t make it the last minute because he wanted to spend more time with his girlfriend. His girlfriend who’s a year younger than him, just graduated this morning ( UNO had 2 sessions going on today ) and would be going to stay with her parents ( an hour’s drive ) throughout the summer before she comes back to Omaha in fall to do her residency. Therefore, they won’t be seeing each other during summer or maybe not at all, according to Art, if she finds someone better than my son!
My son’s girlfriend. She’s half Romanian-half Indian. And my son is half Indian-half Chinese!
I knew they were gonna butcher my friend’s last name! Lol but we are used to having our Chinese names butchered all the time but guess what? She and I find it hilarious and it doesn’t bother us a bit. Like I have always said, it takes a lot to offend me. Life has more things to be enjoyed than to worry about such trivial matters.
She already has a job offer from Mutual of Omaha and hopefully on her way to get a green card in the near future. I know her dream goals are to pursue a Ph.D and make lots of money so that her mom can lead a very comfortable life. Filial piety is very strong in this girl….that’s the thing I like about her. We don’t forget our parents or our loved ones who have sacrificed a lot for us. Even you have made it in life and have all the riches in the world, and you forget the people that have helped you to get there, then there’s nothing to be proud of your achievements…
I tell my son this all the time. He has to be thankful and grateful to Art. Without Art, my son would not be given all these opportunities.
Thanks for reading and hope you all have a great weekend ahead
