Student Spotlight: Murtaza Khawari

• Major: Criminal Justice
• Home: Tehran, Iran

Four years after leaving his home country of Iran for a better life, Murtaza Khawari is feeling at home in the United States and on the Onondaga Community College campus. "I chose OCC because there are a lot of refugees here like me. I hoped I would feel comfortable here and I do."

Khawari was among the top students in his high school class in Iran. When he came to the U.S. one of his first challenges was to earn the English language. "At first my English wasn't good enough. I took English courses at the Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center. I also went to the West Side Learning Center where they helped me improve my English." 

Once he had learned the basics, Khawari started taking class at OCC in 2018. He had a new environment to learn and did his best to adjust. "I would walk around the campus and ask 'what is this place' and 'what is that place?' It's how I discovered everything."

While in class Khawari found a friend in Communication Studies Professor Denise Valdes. "She was always encouraging me. She kept pushing me and telling me I could do it. She helped me a lot and she didn't have to."

Khawari recently found a rewarding job at the Roji Tea Lounge which is located at 108 East Washington Street in downtown Syracuse. He works as a Boba Barista and loves interacting with his customers. "I want to make them feel happy. I always wear a yellow Pikachu hat. I'm so happy to have a job there and meet a lot of new people. My boss is a good person."

His boss is Christian Van Luven, owner of Roji Tea which is headquartered at 1153 West Fayette Street and is within OCC's expended footprint in the START-UP NY program. It provides participants with New York State tax benefits and a partnership with the College which includes student internship opportunities and access to the Small Business Development Center.

2021 promises to be a big year for Khawari. He plans to complete work toward his degree and become a United States citizen. His career goal is to become an FBI agent.