From Bold Dream to Lifelong Generosity

Quick Smiles:

• Kevin Nazemi, at age 11 and new to America, dared to ask for a presidential interview—he got it!
• President Clinton extended the meeting, offering encouragement and advice that inspired Kevin for life.
• Decades later, Kevin set up college funds to thank the White House staffer who first believed in him.

Kevin Nazemi, an 11-year-old Iranian immigrant in Missouri, decided his school news project deserved the biggest guest imaginable—the President. Undaunted by his youth or language skills, Kevin wrote to the White House. When a coloring book arrived instead of an answer, he persisted, calling daily until a staffer, Dave Anderson, picked up.

“His tone was demanding,” Anderson shared with CBS Mornings. “It was much more, ‘When can I interview the president?’”

President Clinton agreed to meet Kevin in Cleveland. Their lively conversation stretched far beyond the scheduled eight minutes, blossoming into a half-hour special that aired on local TV and left a lasting mark on both Kevin and his school.

Kevin carried forward the lessons of persistence and possibility, later excelling at MIT and Harvard and founding multiple companies. He remained in touch with Anderson, and years later, surprised him by setting up college funds for Anderson’s children as a heartfelt thank you.

Kevin and Anderson recently met in person for the first time, and Kevin also reunited with President Clinton—who, after 30 years, still remembered the determined young interviewer.

“The opportunity that (Anderson and President Clinton) provided for me convinced me that you should set really, really big goals and be persistent towards them,” Kevin explained on CBS.

The generosity and warmth Kevin experienced inspired him to pay kindness forward throughout his own life—a legacy started by a single, audacious request.

For more uplifting stories like Kevin’s, be sure to check back with us and share a little hope with your friends!

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