Excited to share my Albanian TV interview

Sam. Sa.

Good evening. I have a great pleasure to have with us today in our show Mr. Sonny Reddy, who is running for the Wayne State board of governors. Mr. Reddy, welcome to ACTV. It's a pleasure to have you with us today.

Thank you. Thank you very much for having me here.

Mr. Reddy is running for the position of the board of governors at the Wayne State University. It's a university where most of our Albanian families send their children, their kids to complete a college degree. It's a very reputable educational institution here in Michigan, in Detroit. Everybody knows Wayne State University and we love Wayne State University. Sonny, I'd like to ask you first, how did you get in touch with some of our community leaders like Nick Jonai and some other business leaders and what is your opinion about the Albanian community?

So when I see the first of all, when I see the Albanian community, I connect with my community. We have the same values, I'll tell you. We close knit families. We take care of the family, we take care of the kids. And the number one education. We actually very close with the way we look at education actually in Indian community, parents are even ready to sell their home to send their kids to the college. They don't. Same thing I saw, same thing I saw in Albanian community, big in education. That's a close match with the two communities. So, you know, I was talking to Nick when we connected through the actual political world. I have other friends through the business world also. But we connected both business and politics and everything. You know, a lot of times you meet so many people, but you don't connect with them. But there are people, you connect with them right away because your thinking changes. You're like minded people. And that's how I connected most of the Albanians. I match with exactly what I think. Okay, you know what? This is what I think. This is what I want to do.

That's true. And like your community, our Albanian community is a pro education.

Pro education. Right.

All Albanian families have one or two of their children in colleges or universities.

That's great.

College degree. So it's in our tradition, like your community as well, to help and support our kids. Kids to complete a college degree and then start their professional life. But at the same time, our community has a lot of entrepreneurs, people, small business owners, business oriented people like your community as well.

Right.

But Mr. Reddy, tell us a little bit more about your previous experiences in leadership and governance and why is this position important for you running for board of trustees or board of governors at the Wayne State University?

Sure. I just want to tell you a little bit about my background so I can connect why I want to run. So 35 years ago I landed in this country as a 20 year old kid. So didn't know anybody. First generation came here as a student on a student visa and a student visa. F1. Exactly. F1 visa. F1 visa.

F1 Visa.

And you know, my mom and dad both were farmers, hard working people. They didn't go to college. I'm the first person went to college in my family. In my family. My mother's dream was she want to see me succeed. She wanted me to go to wherever I could. She wanted to see me as a successful person. So that's one of the reason I came to this country. My dad gave me thousand dollars and of course he paid me first semester and he said thousand dollars, that's it. I came in December, winter semester done and then summer. I worked so hard. I used to work 20 hours a day, four hours sleep. So I sent the thousand dollars back to my dad in the summer. Then I built my life. I know what the hard work is. Especially every immigrant kid. When we come to this country, the only thing is for us it's a survival. Our next generation is so lucky that we have their back. If something happens, I always tell my daughter, I have a daughter, 23 year old daughter. I said, go out and explore. If you fail, don't remember. Just remember that I'm here to support you. I didn't have that support. I survived.

Family is the biggest support.

Support. Exactly. Exactly.

For everything.

Exactly.

Not only for education, but to do anything in life.

Exactly. So I went to the college I finished. But within one year I lost my mom. I couldn't go back my visa, I couldn't go back. My mother said, never give up, succeed. So I lost my mom. That was my biggest supporter for me. A 21 year old lost my mom. And I have no choice. I have to struggle.

Did your parents live with you here.

In the United States?

No.

They never. No. Back home. Back home I'm the first person in my family to come to the United States. So that was not easy for me. And I worked so hard. You name a place I worked in Detroit, everywhere. Delivering the pizza to the. Working in the restaurant, to the motel, to the gas station. I survived. Survival was the only instinct I have. I have to survive. So with the support from the college, with the support from the state, with the support from the people. You know, America is a great people. I can tell you right now in this country we support each other so with the help, I succeeded today. I'm a successful business person. My wife is a dentist. She has three offices. She's a successful doctor, too. And my daughter went to Yale. She graduated last year.

Very impressive.

Yeah. So I want to do something. I said, you know what? I gone through the situation. I know what the hardship is. I work so hard. My policy is, you know, I feel like I paid the price. Let these guys have, you know, at least bypass that process. Let's. Let me help. I want to do something. So this position, by the way, is a voluntary position. I don't get paid. I'm doing it. I'm doing it as a. With my. From my heart. I want to help the kids. I want to make sure they have some support. So, no, it's not a paid position. It's a voluntary position. So I went to last. So I want to learn. I'm pretty good talking to the people. You won't believe it. This is the 14th month since I launched my campaign. I traveled across the state several times. You talk to Nick. Nick will tell you I'm everywhere across the state. Because it's a statewide position, anybody in Michigan can vote for me. It's not just a Wayne County. People get confused. But it is.

The entire population of the state is voting for your position.

Exactly. Exactly.

Your name will be on the ballot.

On the ballot across the street. All Michiganders. Yeah, exactly.

For our viewers, I'd like to let you know that Sonny Reddy would be on your ballot on November 5th, wherever you live, in all counties in Michigan. So please vote for Sonny. If you are concerned about education, and we're going to continue our conversation, bring up some of the important issues that Sonny Reddy is supporting in regards to the board of governors position.

It's very important position. This is about our kids. They are our future tomorrow. I mean, we need to make sure that these kids can compete the kid across the world. If you look at it 20, 30 years ago, people used to say, you know, if you don't have a job, go to Detroit. You'll find something. Not anymore. Our kids are no longer competing with our neighbors. They're competing with the kids across the world. India, China, everywhere.

It's a global market.

It's a global market now, and we need to make sure that our kids are ready for that competition. And I want to make sure that the Wayne stayed ready for teaching the kids.

Mr. Reddy, tell us a little bit more about your education background before we get to the position you're running for the board of Governors at The Wayne State.

I have a master's in chemical engineering from Wayne State University. So graduated from Wayne. I am. Graduated from Wayne State University. I'm proud of Wayne State alumnus. I lived through. I experienced the student life. I graduated from the Wayne State. That's why I know exactly what these kids are. I mean, I know exactly what these kids need. What are the challenges?

You touched on your motivation to run for this position, emphasizing the importance of education and being a Wayne State graduate. You know very well how you can help or contribute back to that community. Wayne State community. It's a big community.

Right.

And very proud. Very reputable.

Very reputable. Right.

So I have. You're a flyer, campaign flyer.

Sure.

And you're emphasizing you have four important issues that you have listed on your flyer. Keeping college affordable.

That's right. That's my number. That's my number one.

And we're going to talk about each one of them individually.

Sure.

The second one is supporting free speech on campus.

That's right.

Okay. That's another important topic. Equal opportunity for all students. Okay. Very important. And of course, supporting safety and security in Detroit. Let's start with the first one. Keeping college affordable.

Right.

The cost of education, like any other living costs in the US have gone up in the last decade.

That's right.

But in the last few years, the inflation and Covid had a great impact on the economy.

That's right.

And then we see high prices everywhere. But why is this important? To make college education affordable.

So again, it's a personal experience also, same thing as a student. I paid 27% on my credit cards to pay off my tuition. So I was talking to the students even today on the campus and they told me two things. They need help. The biggest one is the number one priority is tuition affordable. You know, there are many ways we can control the tuition. It's a one way keep going up. I mean, this year, this year they increased the 3.5%. So the tuition. There are two ideas. I have the main ideas. One is first of all, you know what? Every time I'm in business for last 30 years, if something is especially in the hard times, I look at it, you know, where can I cut the cost without compromising the quality? I want to make sure. I want to make sure that I have enough resources. So that's one way to look at it. The second way is I graduated 30 years ago. No one approached me from the Wayne State University. As an alumnus, I'm a successful business person. Why not bring the alumnus, make them partner with the university. Two things they can do. They can bring the wealth, they can bring the knowledge. They can be advisor, they can be mentor for these graduating kids. And you know what? Every business person needs employees. That makes it easy for the Wayne State graduates to find a job. And they can afford it. They don't have to pay the tuition for their lifelong. I've been talking to the people. It's been 20 years, they're still paying it. I want to make sure that, you know what? Let's make it reasonable, let's make it affordable. And also make sure that these kids have the mentorship, the guidance when they graduate. That's my goal.

Is the board of governors, the authority that authorizes and makes changes when it comes to tuition and other education costs.

That's right.

Influence directly.

Even the policies, too. Even the policies too. I was talking to existing board of governor, one of the board of governor friend of mine, and he said, to increase the graduation in Wayne State, they do away. They taken away the math requirement. I said, you know what? I'll tell you, I believe in education. I'm sure, you know, same thing with Albanian community. When kids are not graduating, you cannot take away something. You want to give them extra help, bring them, you know, it could be a tuition, it could be additional classes, it could be whatever it takes. You want to train them. If you don't do that, if you just take away the requirement, what happens with these kids when they graduate? They cannot compete in the world we want to train them to be so that they are ready for tomorrow's jobs. You cannot just take away. And I felt bad that, you know, they take away. They taken out the math requirement to graduation. That's not right. You know, that's not right. We want to. We are not helping the kids, though. Even though you might help them in a temporarily, you might help them to graduate, but they are going to have a hard time competing with the jobs outside.

That's true. The board of governors is the authority that makes decision on the policy and financial decisions as well.

That's right.

Now, what are some of the revenue streams that the university has? Like tuition is one big revenue stream. But tuition can influence directly the students and the families. This is a public university.

That's right. Yeah. Taxpayer money.

What would be your role and what is your vision if you are elected to push the state government or the state congress, the legislative branch, to help to make college education affordable?

You know, even the state also, there is a lot of overheads. We can increase. We can divert some of the Funds to the education. Okay, State can help. There is no. These are public universities. And you know what? This is the best investment a taxpayer can do. Education institutions. Investing in education is the best thing you can do. That's the best investment. So definitely, definitely new generation. Exactly. A new technology. Things are changing. I mean, if you look at it 20 years ago, telephone is a cell phone is a cell phone. But no longer. That's. That's everything. Your life today, I mean, everything you can do on the cell phone. And that's what I mean. Technology changing. I think definitely our taxpayer dollars could be well spent by investing on education. And that's one way. And then other ways. I think between the alumni and the state help and cutting the cost, we can definitely help the kids.

That's absolutely the right thing to do to keep it affordable and at the same time, implement programs that can help families in need.

Let me add a little bit to that one. Also, the schools need to teach what the kids require for tomorrow. Jobs. One of my biggest thing is STEM education. I am in IT industry. And when I talk to the kids, including my daughter, they're not coming back. When they go, when they graduate, they find a job, they're not coming back to Michigan, and Michigan, losing the kids. So one of the way to keep the kids. I was talking to the majority of these kids, they said, we don't have jobs. You know what? We do have jobs in technology and certain areas. Why not make sure that our kids are trained in that area so that they can find the jobs? We are in my business, we are bringing the people out of state. You're not finding in Michigan.

Really?

Oh, no. Technology area is always on. Yeah.

The STEM programs, which stands for science, technology, mathematics and engineering, are very important for an industrialized state.

Right, exactly, exactly, exactly.

We have to encourage our students to sign up for any of the STEM majors or programs because the jobs, the labor market is very promising.

That's right.

Those directions.

That's right.

Mr. Reddy, you were also pointing on the flyer. I'm looking at your campaign here supporting free speech on campus.

That's right.

This is related to. I mean, the role as a governor you would play on drafting policies that will promote.

That's right.

Freedom of speech. Well, freedom of speech is protected by.

The Constitution of the US Right.

What threatens this constitutional right on campuses, on university campuses? What has changed?

You know, I'll tell you. Freedom of speech. Recently you must have seen in the campuses what's going on. You know, I think protests, for example, a lot of protests. Recently we experienced every college experience protest. You know, every person has a right to protest as long as you don't bother the other some other people. And recently I was talking to the kids. Prejudice against certain races and stopping the kids from going to the attending the classes. You want to protest, feel free to protest. There's no question about it. You know, with the permission, with the proper way, within the rules, everybody has a right to protest in a safe way. Safe way.

Don't threaten the safety and security.

Safety and security. You know, protesting in on a freeways is not at all encouraged. I mean, same thing with the campus. I was talking to some of the students, they've been stopped from going to the classes. So I said, you know what? I am all for protest. There's no question about it. But you should not bother certain people. So I, you know, I am pro free speech. I want to make sure that every person has a right to. Under the, under the United States law, it is protected and they have it. But at the same time, you know what, you respect others.

Freedom of speech is very important when it comes to protesting. You said, you know, the right to protest, to express freely opinion.

Right.

Without being punished.

Punished, exactly. That's important. That's very important.

And then you support policies that do not limit the freedom of freedom of speech.

100%. 100%.

That's clear. Okay. And when we say equal opportunity for all students now as governor at the Wayne State, if you were elected, the policies for admission are sometimes the topics where there is a lot of debate.

Right.

There are quotes for minorities and then there is a discussion about the academic performance versus the quotes and the plan admission for every university. There's a lot of politics involved with this important issue. What is your position in regards to admission? Making it equal opportunity for all students. All students, regardless of their race and origin, religion and other social and economical differences we have.

That's right. So let me put it this way. I came from the world where we used to have thing called reservations. It's based on the caste. In India, it's caste system. So based on the caste. So you have special privileges if you're born in certain caste. So I didn't realize that when I came to this country. I didn't realize until I started filling out the application, helping my daughter filling out the application. So it's the same thing here. It's based on the race. We are not treating all students equally. We are basically our admission process is based on the race, the color of your skin and where you live you know what? Definitely there are disadvantaged kids. We need to start helping from the school level, from the bottom. That system needs to change. We need to start taking care of our kids, making sure that every kid has an opportunity to go to school, school and learn. So you cannot just downgrade the requirements and making them. Recently you must have seen American Airlines, for example. I saw they were increasing the diversity. My message to American Airlines, I said fine, I think we should diversify everything. But don't downgrade the standards. Maintain the standards. If I need to fly tomorrow, if I need to fly, I want to make sure that the pilot is qualified to fly the plane. I don't want to put my life if that person qualified through the downgraded standards. No, same thing with the doctors, right? I mean, you are putting your life at their hands. So I want to make sure. I want to make sure that every kid, irrespective of their color, their race has equal opportunity, not based on their race. You cannot discriminate. That's what I'm for.

Now, Wayne State is, as we said, public higher education institution.

That's right.

The policies are to create a diverse and inclusive educational environment.

Right.

What is your position in fostering and supporting diverse and inclusive learning environment? Wayne State has a very diverse student population.

Right, right, right. It is actually well known, not only now, even 30 years ago, when I was in the campus, it was well divorced actually. You see the. If you want to see the people from across the world go to Wayne State, you can see it. And I want to maintain that. That's great. Actually. That's how the school should be and every student should be treated equally also irrespective of where they come from. And that great. See, that's the greatness of this country too. You know what? You have opportunity. For example, we are all. Myself, I mean, I came from India. I came because my mom said, you know what, do whatever it is. I didn't have opportunity back home at that time. I came here, I worked hard. This country gave me everything because of the policies, because of the way I am successful today. And I want to make sure that every kid has it. But at the same time, not by downgrading the standards. I want to maintain the standards and I want to make sure that this kid who graduated in Wayne State would be able to compete when they go out in the market, would be able to compete with kid across the world no matter what. That's what I want to give. Make sure the Wayne State is one of the best universities. I want to maintain that standard, the.

Labor market is rapidly and drastically changing with the new technologies, with the AI. How do you see yourself playing the role of a governor to keep Wayne State University one of the top universities in the U.S. i mean, one of the best in the state of Michigan.

That's right.

But we, as you said, have to compete with the global market to stay competitive.

Right.

And then it starts from education.

So I start with my business. If I don't maintain. If I if my business, I'm in telecom, okay? So if I don't maintain the technology up to date, I'll go bankrupt. Same thing with the schools too. Changing technology.

The competition in the telecom business is very, very aggressive.

Aggressive. They kill me.

I'm talking about the global competition.

Global competition, exactly. So if I don't update my company with up to date technology, AI for example, I'm going to go bankrupt. I cannot survive. Same thing. I feel like the same thing with the schools too. Because schools are the foundation for this country. We need to make sure that these kids get the best possible education. So I will support. I will make sure at Wayne State. I want to work with the rest of the board making sure that we make the right decision so that these kids can have technology available for our viewers.

Sunny Reddy is running to become Wayne State University Board of Governors and is very passionate about education. Graduated from Wayne State. Now he wants to give back to that community, Wonderful community. And it connects very well with our community, with our Albanian Americans who graduated from Wayne State. It connects with our families. Albanian families who had their children graduated from Wayne State. So, Sonny, we wish you success with your campaign. How many days are left?

28 days now.

28.

28 days now.

November 5th.

November 5th. Can I share something? Actually, just want to let your viewers know that Detroit News endorsed me yesterday. They have a rigorous process. They don't just endorse anybody, so they endorse me. If Detroit News thinks that I'm the best candidate, I'm sure I must have done something right. And I want to do it. I want to keep doing it. I want to help kids. Not only just Indian and Albanian kids, rest of the community here in this state. It's a great state of Michigan, Sonny.

Detroit News is a big name right here in Detroit metro area. So congratulations. Thank you for the endorsement.

Thank you.

And actv Albanian community.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I really. I'm honored to have endorsement from here under the section it says governor of Wayne State. That's the section.

It says be a separate six.

Separate six. Governor of Wayne State.

Well, very well. Thank you very much and thank you for being with us.

Thank you very much.

We wish you successful campaign until November 5th. We wish. And we want to see you one of the governors.

Thank you. Thank you for all your support. I want to come back as a winner. I want to go come back again and again. Update if I win, I want to come back again on the TV and update what I've been doing it. I want to make sure that the people who supported me know that I am for them.

Thank you.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.