Ahmed Aman

Ahmed Aman (Class of 1993) can still remember the first day he landed in the US. He neither knew what to expect nor what will go wrong. He had left a comfortable life, where everything was done for him, including making his bed. At Hargrave, he had to follow rules and do things on his own. “It was a bit uncomfortable,” he says. “Then, I grew into it.”

He was also trying to fit in with different people and backgrounds. Eight countries are represented in the student body. Resolute not to alienate himself, he sought to be friends with all without losing his own culture and values.

Hargrave made it easy. “I think the school itself helps you preserve your own culture and values while giving you the opportunity to be able to make more friends and accept the others as they are without trying to change them,” the business owner recalls. “This was excellent.”

Today, he traces his skills and aptitude in business and life to the Academy. “It's a system that works for a young man like I was at that time to help me get over a lot of things and get me one of my best experiences ever,” he explains. “I spent 11 years in my school in Egypt and one year in Hargrave — but I relate to Hargrave more than my school in Egypt. Hargrave is my home.”