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Javad Zicholi grew up in a strict household where schoolwork was prioritized. He didn't have any siblings but had a close cousin. He was involved in sports, particularly basketball and football. Time management was important for balancing school and sports. He had a few close friends in high school who were still friends to this day. His father came to America from Nigeria and faced challenges but eventually became a financial controller. His mother also had a difficult upbringing but worked hard. Javad is proud of his parents' success and their support. All right, hello, this is an interview with Javad Zicholi, and so the first question for today is what is the, what is your environment, what was your environment like growing up? Growing up, it was, right, I grew up in the, I guess, early 90s, and it was very, in my household in particular, it was very strict, it was always schoolwork before anything, you know, I can recall a time, or many times, Sunday mornings were for book reports and other assignments that my father felt necessary, so, and, you know, Saturdays were cleaning up with my mom, right, so the whole weekend was involved before I could even, you know, think about going outside to play with my friends. All right, at the time, did you have, like, any, like, siblings around you? No, I grew up, or I am an only child, so I do not have any siblings, per se, but I did, I did grow up, rather, with my cousin, he is two years older than me, he came over from Nigeria when I was in sixth grade, so, yeah, so, I do not have any siblings, per se, but I do have a really close cousin who I grew up with. That's really, that's really nice that you have a really close cousin, so, for the next question, I have for you is, did you have any jobs, like, growing up, or, like, any hobbies you did, or, like, et cetera? No jobs growing up, but I was heavily involved in sports, so, basketball and football in particular, so, yeah, so, if it wasn't, if I wasn't occupied with work, or, you know, extra work, it was definitely playing sports, I was, you know, outside all day, every day, outside in the summers, that's pretty much what I did, whether it was camps, or different games, sports was a very big part of my childhood. So, how were you able to, like, balance, like, with school, knowing you have, like, school work, and, like, being, being able to, like, transition, like, into, like, basketball practice and stuff like that? Well, time management is very important. I learned that the hard way a couple times. There were, on one occasion, I recall missing out on practice because my homework wasn't finished, right? So, I learned very early that time management is very important in order for you to balance, balance things. Okay. Were there any other, like, activities you were doing, like, besides basketball, like, any other, like, hobbies that you had, like, to do, just, like, as a, like, as, like, growing up? Outside of sports hobbies? That was, you know, that was pretty much, there wasn't really much, really much else, right? I didn't go fishing or anything like that. So, that was kind of, right, whether it was watching the games with my, with my family. Sports was outside of, you know, education, obviously, but sports was a very big, big part of my life growing up. So, I know you mentioned about, like, having your cousin, like, like, being, being beside you, like, growing up, but did you have, like, any other, like, like, close friends, like, just, like, in school or maybe, like, in your hometown, just growing up with? So, so, yeah, I had, you know, a couple, couple of close friends at the time, right? But being that I didn't go to the high school in my town, like, you know, it was kind of, kind of tough for us to kind of keep, keep connected in that way. But I do have a couple of friends that I, you know, made in high school that are, are very good friends that I made in high school that are, you know, still friends to this day. They were in my wedding. So, those are kind of, kind of the guys that, that I stayed in contact with. We were very like-minded individuals. So, it was important to keep those guys around. Okay. Do you, do you, do you, like, have, like, do you, do you, like, work with them by any chance or, like, like, what type of activities, like, do you do, like, with, like, with your friends, like, till this day? Currently, we are, we are in different fields. But we do, on occasion, we have been able to pass work each other's way. So, both of my, you know, the guys that I were, you know, friends with in high school that I'm still contacting with today, they're both attorneys and I am an accountant. So, being able to pass along contacts and things like that, those, those things are pretty cool to have the capability to do with high school kids or high school friends you grew up with. So. Okay. That's nice. So, not to get off topic, but if, did you have any, like, relations to any, like, immigrants growing up and, like, kind of just, like, having an understanding of what their, like, life was, like, being an immigrant? Of course. You know, my, my dad and his siblings came over from Nigeria. So, I do have a certain insight and respect for, for immigrants that come to another country for the first time and, and find, and make, you know, make a way for themselves. Okay. That's, that's nice. So, one of my last, one of my, almost, like, done, one of the few questions I have left is, have you ever, like, just growing up, have you ever just, like, met someone that you thought was, like, similar to you, like, had the same, like, like, personality or just, like, had the same work ethic since, like, you had school and practice? Just something, like, someone similar to you. Sure, sure. So, growing up, not necessarily. I mean, I didn't really have, like, you know, friends in elementary school that I, that, you know, we kind of followed through, you know, high school, college, things like that. But when I got to high school, I'm, again, kind of like the two guys that I, are very close with now. You know, they were a year older than me, but we, you know, we were very like-minded. And the fact that we both knew the importance of studies. We, we all played on the same basketball team for a bit. And so, we knew we had things in common. We all pushed each other. And even when I was studying for my CPA, you know, one of the guys allowed me to come to his office and, you know, while he worked on the legal briefs, I was studying for the CPA. So that, you know, things like that are pretty special. Okay, that is very special. So, going back, going back to your father, like, do you have any idea of, like, like, what it was like, like, for him to, like, kind of just transition over to, like, to America? Like, like, what was it like for him, like, trying to get a job or anything like that, like having a stable house? Sure. So, he came over after his two eldest brothers. So, when he got there, you know, although it was a culture shock, right? The transition wasn't, wasn't as hard, being that he had, you know, some supports to come to, right? But he did say, you know, things, you know, things were challenging. He spoke English, right? You know, things like that, so that the language wasn't too difficult, but, you know, culture, right? The culture was a bit different. So, that took some adjusting to get to, right? And he came over with a visa to study in college. So, he spent, you know, a lot of the time studying in dorms, but when he needed some home, he had the ability to go to his brothers. Okay, that's, that's pretty cool. Do you have an idea, like, on, like, what he did, like, how he was able to, like, have, like, had you, for instance, like, like, be able to, like, to start a family? So, right, he went to NJCU, he studied for a long time, and got, well, before he, before he got his CPA, he, you know, he, in college, he worked like security jobs, so he had to pay through school, and then once he graduated with an accounting degree, he was able to latch on to, to a few clothing industries, as far as accounting, and got his CPA. Many years later, he is now the financial controller of Alexander Wang. So, that's, that's pretty cool, right? To come, come over when you're, you know, 19 years old, and find a way for yourself. Okay, that's pretty nice for your father and stuff like that. Does your, does your mother have any, like, connections on, like, some of, like, or just know any, like, such thing as, like, like, immigration, or, like, had, like, does she know someone that just, like, has, like, we're at their lowest, like, coming into the country, or maybe herself, either, like, her just coming into the country, and just kind of just not knowing, like, what, what to do, since she was just placed, you know? Yeah, so, my mother, my mother is an immigrant. I'm sure she, she has, or she's come across some immigrants in her lifetime. So, she's not, I can't really speak to that. But what I, what I can speak to is, again, you know, kind of going back to my dad, you know, working odd jobs, just trying to, you know, trying to find a way to make it. He had, you know, he had his older brother to support him, but still coming over was challenging. Faced many difficulties. So, for him to kind of pull himself up, and now he's, you know, in a leadership position in a, in a big company like that, it speaks volumes to his character and work ethic. Okay, that's, that's pretty, some interesting stuff. So, like, just knowing, just knowing the background of, like, your, like, your father, and, like, your mother, like, like, are you just, like, how proud are you? Are you, like, how proud are you? Are you, how proud of you? How proud are you for them, just to, like, knowing from what they, what they've gone through, and, like, just to be here today, and just, like, be, like, so, like, help, like, just be so successful, and just, like, helping their, like, helping, like, each other out, like, helping themselves out, like, you, or even helping your, helping you out. Sure. So, yeah. You know, we spoke a lot of my dad, but my mom as well. You know, she, she, very hard worker. She, she's not an immigrant, but she didn't grow up in the greatest of circumstances, right? So, there was, there was a little struggle involved. She's the third amongst six. So, she, you know, grew up in a pretty big family. And she's the second oldest girl. So, although she's not the oldest, she, she's kind of always been the leader in the family. And, and with that, right, she's always had the responsibility to take care of others. And she strives for herself as well. So, right, my mother was an accountant as well. And then, maybe 10 years into it, she decides to change fields. So, now she, she became a nurse. And after many years of nursing, she's an administrator at a nursing home. So, she's done amazing for herself. So, I owe, I owe much of my determination and worth ethic to my parents. Not only their, their many talks to me, but just, you know, growing up seeing all the things that they've done, how they've taken, how they took care of me and my cousin. And it's, it's, it's shown, it's shown to me, right. And I'm a product of my parents. And yeah, so, I think, I know that they, that what they've instilled in me, I will instill to my children as well. Okay. That was a very powerful speech right there. So, for the, for my last question, just, just stating, just like, you know, like all, all the stuff, like going back to you, just like, like growing up and stuff, like growing up and stuff like that, like, how does that, like, like from your, from your past, like what makes you who you are today? Well, you know, like I said previously, my parents, but then, you know, your, your own, your own life experiences, there's going to be good, there's going to be bad. And, you know, the, the bad is kind of what, what makes you who you are. So learning, learning from mistakes, not afraid to fail, trying different things. Those are kind of the biggest things, right. Always, always learning, always trying to improve. Thank, thank you for your time today, Jonathan, and I really do appreciate it. Thank you for your time, and it was, it was awesome speaking with you today. Thank you.