{"id":12920,"date":"2021-05-05T15:34:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T19:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=12920"},"modified":"2024-05-07T13:34:21","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T17:34:21","slug":"american-dreaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/american-dreaming\/","title":{"rendered":"American Dreaming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Senior Nick Goranites witnessed the American dream firsthand. His Syrian-born mother and his father, a first-generation American, built successful real estate careers\u2014despite never finishing college\u2014thanks to hard work and grit. In so doing, they set an example for their son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I got older and entered high school, my objective was to work hard because my grandparents and parents sacrificed a lot to make a better life for their children,\u201d says Goranites. \u201cIt\u2019s important I make them proud and show them their hard work was not done in vain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following in his older sister\u2019s footsteps, Goranites enrolled at Monmouth University, where he is pursuing a double major in business and political science. His interest in business comes from witnessing his parents\u2019 entrepreneurial success, but his interest in political science and foreign affairs is a product of his larger family\u2019s experiences, says Goranites. He has family throughout the Middle East, some of whom died or became refugees during the Syrian civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fact that I come from an immigrant family means I\u2019ve had close exposure to these issues my whole life,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve also seen how, in America you don\u2019t have to be born with everything to be successful if you are willing to be innovative and put in the work. It inspired me to help others do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With his heart set on a career in politics, Goranites saw his path begin to take shape during his freshman and sophomore years, when he landed an internship in the office of Congressman Chris Smith, the U.S. Representative for New Jersey\u2019s 4th Congressional District. There, he fielded calls from constituents who needed assistance navigating federal agencies, exposing him to citizens from all walks of life as well as agencies from across the political spectrum. He helped veterans resolve challenges within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, assisted seniors with the Social Security program, and answered questions about the U.S. Postal Service. It was Goranites\u2019 first professional\u2014and first political\u2014experience, and he wanted more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Goranites rose to a variety of leadership positions on campus, thriving in an environment that supported him after a history with bullying. He\u2019s the president of the Student Alumni Association, a senior senator for the Student Government Association, and president of MU SPECTRUM, a student club aimed at creating and promoting awareness for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer\/questioning community within Monmouth. \u201cWhen I arrived at Monmouth, my life changed,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI kept to myself and didn\u2019t have the courage or confidence to come out as gay until I got to Monmouth, and so the University has also been a big part of my personal journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Goranites landed an internship working for the Minority Republican Ranking Member Kay Granger on the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, thanks to earning a spot in the Washington Center Internship Program. He gathers data for staff, helps craft memos and briefs, and sits in on hearings. \u201cIt\u2019s all about learning how to work as part of a policy-oriented committee staff,\u201d he says. It\u2019s also his first exposure to Capitol Hill, where he hopes to stay after he graduates in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dream is to work in the American political system, which enabled my parents and grandparents to come here, work hard, and make a change for their family,\u201d he says. \u201cI want to be able to contribute to helping the American people thrive through our system of politics, wherever I happen to find myself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How one graduating senior is fulfilling the promise of the generations before him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":12986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"{\"x\":54,\"y\":31}","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-12920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currents","category-tides","tag-alumni-student-faculty"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Currents, Tides","issue":"Spring 2021","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12920"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12926,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12920\/revisions\/12926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}