The very first post on this blog was inspired by a remarkable man, the one who first made me think about "leaving something behind of lasting value". I have not done a good job of keeping up the purpose, the mission, that I originally established here. I have been too busy devoting all of my energy, every waking moment to work. (Mainly inspired by him - although he would often urge me to stop working so much and live my life.)
Exactly one week ago today, I learned that this remarkable man had passed away. And now - now I feel compelled to write.
The man's name was Maged Atiya.
He was known to many as Twitter's @salamamoussa - a wise commentator and blogger on Egyptian, American and global politics and a well-respected voice of the Coptic community.
But this was not his only identity. I knew him for 10 years as the brilliant CEO/CTO of ScholarChip, an incredibly inspiring mentor and a dear friend.
Along with my colleagues, I attended his funeral service this past weekend, heard some overwhelmingly beautiful eulogies from people who knew him in his "other life", and came to more fully appreciate just how blessed I was to have known him.
I have a lot of memories of Maged, but there are a few that stand out.
I'll start with the story of our very first meeting, back in late 2009, just after I started working at ScholarChip. Not many people know this, but I was not hired by Maged for a role in compliance. I was hired by a different department as a part-time administrative/marketing assistant. After a 10-year child-rearing gap in my previous technology career, I took the position as a way to get my foot in the door.
My original duties at ScholarChip included gathering administrators' contact information from school district websites, printing and mailing letters to them, and watering plants(!) About 3 days after I started, Maged asked to meet me, as he always liked to get to know his new employees. When I entered his office he had my resume in front of him. I sat down and he looked up and asked me, "What are you doing here?" I was honest and gave him the above explanation. His response: "We're going to find you something better to do - I don't want you getting bored." We then talked a bit about my previous experience and what kinds of things I might want to do. I will never forget this one thing he said to me: "I don't believe in filling a position - I believe in hiring a person." He explained that once he discovered someone's potential, his approach was to find out where their interests and abilities lie and then let the job description take care of itself.
Shortly after this first meeting, he asked for my help in figuring out how to get our payment applications certified for PCI compliance (which I knew nothing about, but immediately began to research.) We worked closely together for a while and my role evolved from there.
This story is not about me - it's about him, and about how he saw people. He didn't see me as a 40-something-year-old mother with a huge employment gap. Instead, he saw some sort of potential, and was willing to invest time and effort to help me develop it. In the 10 years that I've been here I've not only benefited from his mentoring but also watched him do the same with others. As a coworker beautifully stated this week, "Many of us had opportunities we wouldn't have had other places or at all if Maged hadn't seen our potential and believed in us...There's more diversity in our company than any place else I've worked. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. In a country that's becoming increasingly polarized over issues of race, etc, I'm proud to work for a company that's a shining example of how diversity is a strength. Our diversity is a window into the soul of a man who didn't place limits on us but instead encouraged us to exceed the limits we place on ourselves." His methods ranged from gentle encouragement, to whiteboard lessons and brainstorming, to throwing you in the deep end and standing back to watch and see if you could swim. These were his ways of bringing out the best in each of us. And I will be forever grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to learn and grow here as part of his team.
This is what has always made me want to give him - and ScholarChip - my very best.
Not everyone "gets" Maged. Some people found him intimidating, and thus didn't get the chance to really know him. I was intimidated at first by his reputation of extreme intelligence, as well as his position as head of the company. But after just a few conversations, that all passed. He had a way of making you feel comfortable enough to speak freely and open up to him. In all the time I have worked with him, as brilliant as he was, he never once made me feel stupid.
I'll start with the story of our very first meeting, back in late 2009, just after I started working at ScholarChip. Not many people know this, but I was not hired by Maged for a role in compliance. I was hired by a different department as a part-time administrative/marketing assistant. After a 10-year child-rearing gap in my previous technology career, I took the position as a way to get my foot in the door.
My original duties at ScholarChip included gathering administrators' contact information from school district websites, printing and mailing letters to them, and watering plants(!) About 3 days after I started, Maged asked to meet me, as he always liked to get to know his new employees. When I entered his office he had my resume in front of him. I sat down and he looked up and asked me, "What are you doing here?" I was honest and gave him the above explanation. His response: "We're going to find you something better to do - I don't want you getting bored." We then talked a bit about my previous experience and what kinds of things I might want to do. I will never forget this one thing he said to me: "I don't believe in filling a position - I believe in hiring a person." He explained that once he discovered someone's potential, his approach was to find out where their interests and abilities lie and then let the job description take care of itself.
Shortly after this first meeting, he asked for my help in figuring out how to get our payment applications certified for PCI compliance (which I knew nothing about, but immediately began to research.) We worked closely together for a while and my role evolved from there.
This story is not about me - it's about him, and about how he saw people. He didn't see me as a 40-something-year-old mother with a huge employment gap. Instead, he saw some sort of potential, and was willing to invest time and effort to help me develop it. In the 10 years that I've been here I've not only benefited from his mentoring but also watched him do the same with others. As a coworker beautifully stated this week, "Many of us had opportunities we wouldn't have had other places or at all if Maged hadn't seen our potential and believed in us...There's more diversity in our company than any place else I've worked. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. In a country that's becoming increasingly polarized over issues of race, etc, I'm proud to work for a company that's a shining example of how diversity is a strength. Our diversity is a window into the soul of a man who didn't place limits on us but instead encouraged us to exceed the limits we place on ourselves." His methods ranged from gentle encouragement, to whiteboard lessons and brainstorming, to throwing you in the deep end and standing back to watch and see if you could swim. These were his ways of bringing out the best in each of us. And I will be forever grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to learn and grow here as part of his team.
This is what has always made me want to give him - and ScholarChip - my very best.
Not everyone "gets" Maged. Some people found him intimidating, and thus didn't get the chance to really know him. I was intimidated at first by his reputation of extreme intelligence, as well as his position as head of the company. But after just a few conversations, that all passed. He had a way of making you feel comfortable enough to speak freely and open up to him. In all the time I have worked with him, as brilliant as he was, he never once made me feel stupid.
(Though I did frequently have to go back to my desk and Google things after we spoke. :) )
Over the years, I've seen Maged the technologist, Maged the professor, Maged the salesman, Maged the storyteller, the master of the whiteboard, I've "cried on his shoulder" during several rough times in my personal life - and some in my professional life as well (when that deep-end stuff didn't work out as planned.) I've been amazed at how expertly he handled each of these different roles, how willing he was to assume each of them as needed, and how much he seemed to genuinely care about the thoughts and feelings of the people working with him.
I could go on and on about how profoundly he has affected my life. And I will, in later posts. There is a lot that I need to say. But I will leave it at this for now.
He may have been "larger than life", but he was also very human and never lost sight of that.
He was the reason I came to work every day, and in his memory I will do my best to help keep ScholarChip on the path that he envisioned. Rest in peace, dear friend.
Over the years, I've seen Maged the technologist, Maged the professor, Maged the salesman, Maged the storyteller, the master of the whiteboard, I've "cried on his shoulder" during several rough times in my personal life - and some in my professional life as well (when that deep-end stuff didn't work out as planned.) I've been amazed at how expertly he handled each of these different roles, how willing he was to assume each of them as needed, and how much he seemed to genuinely care about the thoughts and feelings of the people working with him.
I could go on and on about how profoundly he has affected my life. And I will, in later posts. There is a lot that I need to say. But I will leave it at this for now.
He may have been "larger than life", but he was also very human and never lost sight of that.
He was the reason I came to work every day, and in his memory I will do my best to help keep ScholarChip on the path that he envisioned. Rest in peace, dear friend.
