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Our American Stories

An Immigrant Story About Education, Football, and the American Dream

Our American Stories

iHeartPodcasts

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6817 Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 8 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of Our American Stories, every immigrant story begins with a decision to leave something familiar behind. For Kevin Samy’s father, that meant leaving a village where opportunity was scarce and education was almost nonexistent.

Samy shares how that journey to the United States influenced his upbringing, from growing up in a diverse American community to discovering how football, education, and discipline helped shape the path of his life.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

This is an I-Heart podcast.

0:02.5

Guaranteed Human.

0:14.3

This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories,

0:18.6

the show where America is the star and the American people.

0:22.8

And we'd love to hear your story. Send them to Our American Stories.com.

0:27.5

Up next a story from Kevin Sammy, the son of Indian American immigrants who appeared in Forbes

0:33.4

30 Under 30 for Law and policy in 2016.

0:38.5

Today, Kevin shares with us the story of his family's love for the sport he played, football,

0:44.4

and why they valued his education so much.

0:47.4

Take it away, Kevin.

0:49.6

You know, I grew up in Canton, Ohio.

0:52.8

I am first-generation Indian American. So my mom and dad, they emigrated

0:57.7

from rural South India. My dad came to the United States to do his doctorate. He ended up moving to

1:03.1

Ohio to work at a company as an engineer. And that's where I was born. And I had what I believe

1:09.7

is a pretty archetypal Midwest upbringing in a lot of ways. I

1:14.4

played football in high school and I ended up playing in college too. I don't think I would have,

1:18.8

if not for the fact that I grew up so close to the Hall of Fame and the culture there was so

1:22.8

deeply steeped in football. I didn't know I would be as good as I was. Playing in college is difficult to do,

1:29.2

and I say that to give credit to everyone who makes it to Division I ball. You know, my parents,

1:34.5

they really wanted to learn the game after I became interested in it. After I started to do well,

1:39.4

and I got looks from colleges, I was, you know, all state for two years in the state of Ohio,

1:43.9

which is a, you know, known state for two years in the state of Ohio, which is a,

...

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