Ladan Pourmasiha Urgent Care Medical Director Baptist Health South Florida Parkland
“I would absolutely say my father, my father has been such an amazing role model for myself and my sisters,” Ladan Pourmasiha said. “The reason I say my father is a role model for me is because we’re three physicians. My father started from scratch because he was an immigrant, and he came to this country to work as hard as he could to give us the best life he could at that time. He still not only remains being an amazing father, but an amazing grandparent. He is our source of love, affection and probably the funniest person in our entire family.”
Brian Long Manager of ticket sales The Orange Bowl Doral
“I would say my father William Long,” Brian Long said. "I would say he really instilled a lot of good values, hard work and determination in me growing up. So really it is something he passed down to me, that his dad passed down to him and I really plan when I have a son to pass down to him."
Allinson Chong Hing Vocational rehab counselor for Service Source Miami Shores
“My dad, he’s my best friend and my hero,” Allinson Chong Hing said. “He beat cancer at the age of 33, he has made a lot of sacrifices for my family like bringing us here to the United States so we could have a better life. I just love him so much and he’s amazing. [He would tell me] anything I want out of life to just go for it and that I can accomplish anything that I want."
Adriana Carvajal Workforce Services Coordinator Miami Dade College, Hialeah Campus Hialeah
“I feel like my dad, because he always took care of the whole family,” Adriana Carvajal said. “Whenever my grandparents were not able to work, he would pick up stuff for the house. And then he went from Cuba to Chile and took my grandparents [to the U.S.]. He has always taken care of the family. I think my dad is a really important figure in my family.”
William Perez Attorney, Retired colonel, U.S. Marine Corps Miami Lakes
“It would be Col. Ralph E. Pearcy, USMC, my first boss and mentor in the Marine Corps,” William Perez said. “Here was a West Virginia-born Southern gentleman mentoring me: A Cuban refugee immigrant, on leadership, taking care of our Marines, and how to work effectively across units and departments to accomplish the mission. I learned that being a mentor or father figure did not require that you be the same race or cultural background, but that you have the drive and compassion to want to improve the lives of others."