Mahdi (Aiden) Jahami is a first-generation college graduate. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon in 2010 and have been financially dependent on him. Mahdi relied on student loans for his undergraduate studies.

Through perseverance and dedication, he was able to graduate in four years, maintaining a 3.50-plus undergraduate GPA while working part time and volunteering. Mahdi currently is a mechanical engineering graduate student at Sacramento State, specializing in power production and renewable energy.

He works as a utility engineer with the California Public Utilities Commission, and he volunteers as a research assistant at Saha Health Clinic and as a translator with the University of California, Davis, Police Department.

Mahdi’s goal is to combat climate change by using renewable energy sources to limit ​communities’ reliance on fossil fuels.