The Place for Baby Boomers to Share Memories
By Larry Teren
Ma called the other day to ask a question. Our conversation went like this:
Ma: what’s an IPO?
Me: oh, you must have heard about Facebook, the number one social media company. An IPO means an initial public offering. It’s when a company decides to open up ownership through stock shares to the general public and not just officers and employees of the company.
Ma: uh, huh. How come Facebook is in trouble with their IPO? Continue reading “Facebook the Nation”
By Larry Teren
Some immigration stories turn out well; others, just plain make you shake your head. Take these two people and learn from them: Gac Filipat (pronounced Gus Felipi) and Eduardo Saverin.
Mr. Filipat came to this country from Yugoslavia twenty years ago. He took a job as a custodian at Columbia University because they offered up to fourteen free college credits a year for employees. Columbia only accepts ten percent of applicants a year. He took them up on it while he went about his business of cleaning toilets and the like. By the way, a full year’s tuition at Columbia as of 2011 was pegged at $45,290. Slightly more than half the students were entitled to some type of financial assistance to a maximum of $40,259.
Gac came to this country speaking little English but ended up taking a heavy dose of English literature classics. He has fulfilled only half of his dream. He intends to stay on as a custodian and continue with graduate courses which are also payment exempt for employees. Not bad for a man of 52, huh? Continue reading “A Tale of Two Immigrants”