Upon his arrival, he was given a table assignment and was told that he and the Silicon Valley Education Foundation would be among those highlighted in the President's remarks.
Source/Credit: San Jose Mercury News
By By Sal Pizarro | July 15, 2013
It's not every day you get invited to a White House dinner and wind up seated next to President Barack Obama, but that's what happened to Silicon Valley Education Foundation CEO Muhammed Chaudhry on Monday.
Chaudhry was invited to the White House Iftar Dinner, which celebrates the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, by the U.S. Department of Education. Upon his arrival, he was given a table assignment and was told that he and the Silicon Valley Education Foundation would be among those highlighted in the President's remarks. "They sat me down and said, 'By the way, the President will be sitting on your right,' " a still-stunned Chaudhry told me Tuesday afternoon.
President Obama sat at the table for more than an hour, conversing about several topics from the situation in the Middle East and NSA spying to the San Francisco 49ers. When Chaudhry tried to tell him about the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, the president said he'd been reading up on the group and thought they were doing innovative work.
In his remarks, the President talked about how Chaudhry and his family were mistreated in Pakistan because they were part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. "They immigrated to America, and in California, Muhammed saw world-changing technologies being launched in the same neighborhoods where too many students struggled just to stay in school," President Obama said. "Today, he runs a foundation that works with schools, parents and local IT startups to better prepare students to embrace science and math. And they've started turning the tables -- thanks to Muhammed's foundation, so many of these students are now taking classes that put them on track for college."
Of course, you can't come home from D.C. without a souvenir. After Chaudhry shared that his toddler twins, Momin and Dania, share an Aug. 4 birthday with the commander-in-chief, the President used his table place card to write a personal birthday message for the kids.
...
---------------------------
Ahmadiyya Times Note: Muhammed Chaudhry has served as National Vice President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) USA. AMYA says it was honored when one of it's finest members was recognized at the White House Iftar Dinner for his non-profit work in the education sector.
Read original post here: President Obama highlights work of Silicon Valley Education Foundation CEO Muhammed Chaudhry
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.