We heard from Pakistani-born Kanwal Rekhi, who was no doubt a hilarious speaker. His stories about the struggles and challenges that he faced during his journey to success in corporate America reminded me of the allegorical character in John Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress. Rekhi talked about failures, about disappointments, about layoff after layoff, about working through the mountain of prejudices and unfair treatments. He also spoke of setting goals and moving towards them, finding ones own inner strength and motivation. He spoke of the victories he has had, some of the great successes in his career, and of his mission now to give something of value back to his community.

 Photo by Carlos Mariveles