Welcome in. The tea is ready!

My mother's cup

When I was a kid in Afghanistan, my mom made me a glass of Al-Otuor tea every morning before school. With it, she gave me a UNICEF BP-5 biscuit, and she prayed for my safe return.

My way to school was a hiking trail that had been bombed. That glass of tea, the biscuit, and her prayer went with me every day. That is why I love this cup.

Obaid

My first jobs

For more than two years, I was a janitor at the American International School of Utah, the same school where I was a student. I pushed this vacuum through classrooms after everyone had gone home, sometimes past midnight, with my homework still in my bag.

I painted the entire school. I washed cars on weekends. Later, I drove for Uber and Lyft across Utah for over a year. Before all of that, at nine years old, I sold snacks for a local store in Kabul, with a tiny popcorn machine on the back of my bicycle.

The day after my valedictorian speech, I was back at school with a paintbrush. I am proud of every one of these jobs. They paid for my dreams.

Obaid

My teacher's glass of water

In sixth grade in Afghanistan, I sat on pebbles under a blue UNICEF tent, staring at my math teacher Ziya's glass of water. I wondered whether it was half full or half empty.

When I asked him, he said, “You worry too much, Obaid. Just drink the damn water.”

That was the world I came from. A world where you kept going because stopping was never an option.

Obaid

Heaven's Formosa

I tried Heaven's Formosa oolong once, in Bali, Indonesia, and fell in love with it. Then I found it again in Salt Lake City.

I love its honey smell and the warm taste it brings. After a long week of studying and preparing, it is the cup that calms me down.

Obaid

The Newcomer Brief

When I arrived, nobody handed me a guide. I learned how to open a bank account, find a doctor, and fill out a form by getting it wrong first.

The Newcomer Brief is the guide I wish I had: plain-language guides on what newcomers need to know in the U.S., from your first 90 days to knowing your rights. The first seven are on the shelf now, with more guides and stories on the way.

Research and Policy

As a kid in war-torn Afghanistan, I watched President Karzai meet leaders from other countries on my family's black-and-white Sharp TV. They made decisions about all of our lives, and none of us were in the room. I wanted to do something about it.

Today I use coding, databases, and policy tracking to help newcomers know their rights and use them fully. I created the first-ever U.S. polarization index, and I write about migration, justice, democracy, international security, and the ethics of public policy, which I help teach at Columbia.

Mentorship

I came to the U.S. with no English. I graduated as valedictorian of my high school and at the top of my class in college, became a Model UN state champion, spoke at the United Nations and Harvard, and was admitted to all nine graduate programs I applied to, including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia.

Nobody did it alone, and neither should you. I help with college essays, SAT and ACT prep, and applications from high school to graduate school, plus languages, careers, and civic education. Free sessions are for newcomers to the U.S., regardless of immigration status, and everyone else is welcome to reach out.

Teaplomacy

Teaplomacy means building diplomacy and community over a cuppa tea. Where I come from, every important conversation begins with tea, and I bring that tradition to people who might never otherwise sit at the same table.

At the heart of it is Chai & Chat. Refugee and immigrant students share tea and snacks from home, tell their stories, and see them turned into better school, district, and state policies. At East High School, grades soared, fights dropped, and students got subtitles in class and a prayer room. I have also led sessions at Harvard, Oxford, St Andrews, and more. The tea is the easy part. The listening is the point.

My Story

I grew up in Kabul, the youngest of eight. My siblings and I saved for nine months to buy one black Dell computer, and my turn on it was from 2 to 4 in the morning. Through that 14-inch screen, I found my way to the world.

I arrived in Utah at sixteen with $2.67 in my pocket, almost no English, and one black backpack. This is the story of the road from there to here, and of the people who made me feel at home.

Hire me

Invite me to speak at your event about immigrants and refugees, the policies that help newcomer communities, voting and civic engagement, leadership, or building a life from nothing. At one scholarship gala, sharing my story helped raise $1.3 million for students from marginalized backgrounds.

I also build websites and brands from scratch, with a special discount for newcomers. And for newcomers, help with college, careers, and languages is free when you join the sessions list.

Support my journey

I arrived in the U.S. with $2.67 in my pocket. Today I am a first-generation student earning my master's in international affairs at Columbia, while mentoring students for free and working with newcomer communities.

If my story or my work means something to you, you can chip in. Every contribution, big or small, helps with my studies and keeps my sessions free for students who cannot pay. Thank you for helping me keep going.

You can chip in on Venmo at @obaidtea.

Contact

Have a question, an idea, or just want to say hello? Leave me a note in the guestbook. I read every one, and I will write back.