Dr. Wael Khoury
Where are you from?
Syria
What was it like growing up?
Graduated from Damascus University Medical School in 1975 and came to Cleveland. I was always involved in civic activities during medical school.
What brought you to Cleveland?
Cleveland is a renowned medical and cultural center and had a nice Syrian American medical community, so it appealed to me as the best choice to obtain residency and fellowship and to settle in it for practice. It became the new Home for our family.
What were your first thoughts about coming to America? Did those change?
Concerned about the unknown, and about leaving the family behind. The smooth transition made these concerns less stressful.
What challenges did you face transitioning here?
Mastering the language, immersing in civic and community activities, meeting the professional peer’s expectations and challenges, making new friends and being part of the American society with preservation of the heritage.
What is your occupation?
Physician
How have other Clevelanders made you feel welcomed?
Great hospitality on social and professional levels. Appreciation of skills and achievements.
What traditions or customs do you continue to practice?
Emphasizing strong family ties and ethics. Nurturing civic commitments to family members.
What do you love about Cleveland?
Cleveland is a medical and cultural power house, especially in the last few years. We take great pride in our city and work hard to contribute to its distinguished growth and success. We give to the city our best professional skills, our great spiritual and cultural spirits and pave the road for the new generations of International Newcomers to succeed.
What is your favorite thing to do in Cleveland?
Enjoy its natural beauty with parks and lakes. Enjoy the cultural centers, orchestra, museums, theaters, sports, civic organizations and its friendly people.
What is the best thing about living in Cleveland?
All of the above.
Why is Global Cleveland a great resource?
It is a wonderful idea to have a committed organization such as Global Cleveland to help assisting the new International Newcomers to settle in, address their needs and accommodate their skills so they can become successful and productive citizens.
Why is it so important to welcome International Newcomers?
International Newcomers are the new blood supply that every city needs to assure its continued growth and to benefit from the high motivation and energy that International Newcomers bring to the society. Welcoming them and facilitating their path to success would make their experience and contribution even more fruitful and productive.
What suggestions do you have to make Cleveland a more welcoming community?
Keep exploring new venues to assist International Newcomers. Connecting them to the matching professional paths at an early stage and including them in positive civic and cultural activities, so they can transition and become more contributing communities at a faster pace.
Mariana Edelman
I was born and raised and Buenos Aires, Argentina. My family’s heritage is Eastern European on my father’s side, and Turkish on my mother’s side of the family. I was brought up observing the Jewish traditions.
I grew up surrounded by lots of family members and friends. Buenos is a big city, with more than ten million people, so there was always something exciting to do. I went to a public school system and I did my high school years in a Jewish day school. I attended to the public university system where I got my degree as a Graphic Designer. After earning my degree, I worked full time and as a freelancer for many years.
I randomly reconnected online with high school sweet heart, who is also Argentinean and Jewish and has been in Cleveland since 2002. I moved to Cleveland in 2008, and we got married in 2009.
Upon arrival, I immediately fell in love with the city, the culture, became a Cavaliers fan (go Cavs!), and was amazed at the kindness and support I got in the process of adapting myself to living in a new place. I was, and still am, very lucky to be surrounded by such nice people. Once I established myself personally and professionally in Northeast Ohio, I never looked back.
As an International Newcomer, my accent was kind of challenging in the beginning, and so was to make new friends. But things got better, and I love being a Clevelander. A VERY proud one.
“I am the owner of Mariana Edelman Photography & Design. As a photographer, I mainly specialize in Wedding and Bar/Bat Mitzvah photography. I also do Corporate photography and family events. As a graphic designer, I focus in branding, editorial and corporate. I really love what I do. You can see my work at www.marianaedelman.com.
In 2015, we became parents of twin girls, and are now in the process of raising children with American, Hispanic and Jewish cultures. We love continuing of family traditions of celebrating the Jewish High Holidays and Passover. And I get to celebrate Mother’s Day twice! One in May, and one in October!
Some of my favorite things to do in Cleveland are taking the twins to Preston’s Hope, visiting Legacy Village, which I love thinking as of a huge doll house, and walking by Chagrin Falls. I totally love living in a place where nature and urban blend so well.
Landing in a new city knowing few to none people could be very scaring, and having an organization such as Global Cleveland can be very resourceful to contribute to a new beginning and to get the much needed support. I think Cleveland has a very welcoming community. Don’t be scared to knock on a few doors and introduce yourself. You will get surprised by people’s kindness and support.
Kwasi Bediako
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, West Africa.
What was it like growing up?
Growing up in Ghana was beautiful. Surrounded by nature and lots of family. I spent most of my childhood in school and playing football or as called in America, Soccer.
What brought you to Cleveland?
When I arrived in America, my mom’s job had relocated her to Cleveland and to make it easier for me to assimilate in the culture, we decided to completely move to Cleveland to be with her, she taught me my way around.
What were your first thoughts about coming to America? Did those change?
My first thought was “What a beauty!”. With all the technology, High-rise buildings and advancements, it felt good. I had never lived anywhere outside my home country which made it more memorable. It didn’t change, I still admire the beauty anytime I drive through the city of Cleveland.
What challenges did you face transitioning here?
Culture Shock. In my home country, power distances were great. Children and adults had clear cut roles. In America, everyone had a voice. No voice was too small to be heard so I had to adapt to let my voice be heard.
What is your occupation?
I am currently a student at Cleveland State University and paralegal at Margaret W. Wong & Associates LLC Attorneys at Law.
How have other Clevelanders made you feel welcomed?
I have made some good friends in Cleveland. Clevelanders have been good and tend to be more open to International Newcomers. Many people I meet are open to learning a thing or two about Ghana, where I am from.
What traditions or customs do you continue to practice?
I continue to hold on to my religion and practice the act of kindness, respect and humility to all persons irrespective of age, class or status. These are three very important aspects of the Ghanaian culture.
What do you love about Cleveland?
I love the passion for sports. How it brings us all together. Reminds me of Ghana
What is your favorite thing to do in Cleveland?
I like to walk along the lakes and in the parks. They have some pretty awesome places where one can get in tune with nature
What is the best thing about living in Cleveland?
The best thing to me is easy accessibility to education. Schools such as Cuyahoga Community College and Cleveland State amongst many others have given many International Newcomers like myself the opportunity to experience and attain quality and affordable education·
Why is Global Cleveland a great resource?
It is a great resource because it offers opportunities to people, particularly people with International Newcomer descent. Just by writing my story, it has granted me the opportunity to share with America, my International Newcomer story.
Why is it so important to welcome International Newcomers?
It is important to welcome International Newcomers because many come in only as a way to survive, fleeing from death and all sorts of hardships and oppression. To welcome an International Newcomers is to give hope and opportunity not only to that International Newcomer but to his/her younger generation and to provide them the opportunity to contribute to the growth of America. International Newcomers are good people.
What suggestions do you have to make Cleveland a more welcoming community?
Cleveland should continue with the good work on showcasing cultures of other nationals and minorities. Colleges should continue the good works of hosting cultural shock events where people from other cultures have been able to represent their cultures. It helps educate and promote acceptance of other cultures.
Daniil Pleshkov
Where are you from?
Russia
What was it like growing up?
I enjoyed my childhood very much. The Soviet Union dissolved a year prior to my birth and I also lived on a border with China (we just have a little river between us). So I had a fairly good international exposure coupled with a lot of entrepreneurial activity happening around me.
What brought you to Cleveland?
My aunt won a green card lottery held annually by the US and came to Indiana State University for her MBA. By the time I graduated from high school in Russia, she moved to Cleveland to work for Progressive. I entered Cleveland State University and stayed with her and her boyfriend until they left in 2015.
What were your first thoughts about coming to America? Did those change?
I have been to the US before, so I was fairly ready to move here. While many things were still new to me, I have fully assimilated since. Every culture is different and it takes time for one’s established paradigms to shift and accept this culture.
What challenges did you face fitransitioning here?
I did not face many challenges entering the US as a student, but getting permanent citizenship in the US is a fairly complicated process.
What is your occupation?
I work with real estate on the operations and management sides.
How have other Clevelanders made you feel welcomed?
Cleveland is a great city with a very unique vibe. Being a downtown resident, I am glad to see its noticeable growth in the recent years.
What traditions or customs do you continue to practice?
I rarely go out and still watch international hockey. I also go to orthodox church on occasion and wear a cross – a common thing for many Slavic people. I wouldn’t mind visiting a Catholic church, but no one ever invited me, really.
What do you love about Cleveland? What is your favorite thing to do in Cleveland?
The weather, of course. Erie lake is gorgeous and I am very glad to have it around. Boating is popular here so we go out on boats with coworkers. Travelling by water is a truly pleasant experience.
What is the best thing about living in Cleveland?
Proximity and price of living make Cleveland rock big time. There is also something about Cleveland’s architecture that makes it very aesthetically intriguing.
Why is Global Cleveland a great resource?
Global Cleveland works for good causes, offers opportunities and brings good networking to the table.
What suggestions do you have to make Cleveland a more welcoming community?
Cleveland should advertise itself better to entice people to move downtown, and so should companies doing business in Cleveland. It is a great city and an influx of people would help revitalizing it. Companies should also work closer with youth and students to spur a growth of startups and entrepreneurism to tech us up a bit.
