Omid Kordestani, Google's senior vice president of global sales and business development, returned to his alma mater to deliver the commencement address at San Jose State University in 2007. Born in Tehran, Kordestani immigrated to the United States at age fourteen after losing his father to cancer, arriving in San Jose thanks to a family friend whose son studied engineering at SJSU. Kordestani built his speech around what he called 'aha moments'—turning points that shaped his life. His first aha was the power of thinking and acting like an immigrant. He described the 'shocking confidence' that comes with being an immigrant: an unshakable belief that nothing can make you fail. He urged all graduates—whether born in the U.S. or abroad—to embrace that immigrant edge: the combination of optimism, determination, and fearlessness that refuses to accept any obstacle as permanent.