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Bravo! This is overdue.

Back in the early 80's my dad ( a chess teacher from Odessa ) immigrated to NYC ( with just $150 ). My mom worked 3 jobs to put him through Yeshiva Uni where he learned Cobol, JCL, and Fortran.

He ended up getting hired right away by Lehman Bros, and realized he was sitting on a gold-mine. Tons of well-educated immigrants were coming onto the golden-paved shores, with 0 knowledge of computer programming.

So we upgraded our family 1.5 bdrm apt in Jackson Heights, Queens, to a modest 3 bedroom tower apt in Forest Hills, where he proceeded to lecture evening and weekend classes by the droves.. (all on 1 white board!) * my job ( i was 13 at the time ) was to serve everyone instant coffee and bagels.

One day I was curious and asked him “Dad, these folks can barely speak english.. how are they going to even pass their interviews?” — he looked up from his hand-drawn spreadsheet he kept a strict record of students..”Oh that part is easy… I already know all their future managers” — It was the perfect funnel.

best of luck fellas!



Fascinating story; why don't you write this up long-form and submit it here to HN?


yeah there is much to say! (good and bad)

Alas running a digital studio, a startup, and being a father to a wild 5yr old boy has produced few disposable hours(sigh)

..however weekly Medium posts is something i've been meaning to do...especially as im living abroad.

thanks for the encouragement.


What a great story. As someone who lived near Odessa for some time, thank you!


This sounds like the perfect opportunity for a documentary project, well beyond just a write-up. What an awesome example to be so close to!


Write it in an article.




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