Icebreaker - Nick Samoylov

While preparing this speech I made quite a few discoveries (thank you, toastmasters system!). The biggest one, I realized how lucky I am. Sure people told me this, and I felt lucky and was grateful for all the blessings, but I never actually tried to account how many of those blessings were provided. Just to name a few.

First of all - nothing terribly new here - my wife and our two daughters. With Luda we married many (I am not allowed to disclose how many) years. Most of this time we worked together – in the same company, on the same project, even sitting next to each other, as right now too in Jeppesen (Boeing Corporation). We are literally 24 by 7 for many years. We used to it and miss each other very quickly.

Our girls are delight of our hearts, realization of dreams we did not even dare to have, and justification of all our efforts. They graduated from college already. The older Kateryna graduated from Harvard (now is doing PHD in philosophy in Brown). The younger Maria graduated from Tufts (now works as an investment analyst in JPMorgan Bank in NY).
Another example of my luck, I studied English behind the iron curtain and knew I had no chance to use it. Normal people never crossed USSR borders, there were no foreigners around, and I had a clearance on the top of that (I worked for Star Wars project). My friends were puzzled: “Why?!” I could not explain. I just loved to learn a new language. Than - sure enough, my luck kicked in - the USSR collapsed, and suddenly I am among very few who can communicate with new world over the broken fence. Quite a few people said later: “Wow! How smart were you that studied English!” This first speech – in English - in front of English speaking audience is the fulfillment of my childhood dream.

The collapse of the USSR was lucky for me in several other ways. The scientific research lost funding, and we had to hit the market. First devastated and lost, I soon discovered joy and power of the free enterprise. I created two companies - all around computers – and not only kept afloat, but actually prospered by standards of those days. Since 1991 I am not afraid of anything… except myself.

The last example of my luck is related to our coming to the US. You know that many people try many different ways for many years to come here and cannot succeed. We tried it only once. Luda, my wife, pulled a Green Card Lottery ticket and got it right – just like that – in the critical moment when we desperately needed to re-unite the family (our daughters were schooling in England at the time; they were accomplished piano players and got scholarship in Royal College of Music, also in Claremont Fan Court school and Cheltenham Ladies College). At that time I worked for a German company. We tried to build a bridge between western money and Ukrainian brains. I traveled between Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and England, to visit kids, who were 10-14 and 12-16 years old. Luda also visited them, but we basically stuck in the Ukraine. The chance to live again as a family in a civilized country was just blessing.

There were several other discoveries… Manual recommends be more personal during the icebreaker. …One of my discoveries was my night cap – my private view of self. Everybody has one. Mine is Sylvester Stallone with Leonardo Da Vinci’s brains and Prince Charles’ manners. My secret initials are “LCS”. The icebreaker helped me to shed light on this monster. I have to work on the beast to bring it closer to reality.

Oh, yes, another thing … Did I mention I am a convicted felon currently charged with an identity theft from a Ukrainian guy? Just kidding.