As part of our Mother’s May series, we are celebrating another mom: Minoo. Like Lizeth, Minoo is an immigrant who moved to the United States to support her family. She’s also the mother of Yasamin, our colleague.

In fact, much of Minoo’s story is about Yasamin, who currently works as a Senior Product Manager at Ria and is Minoo’s only child.

“There’s nothing comparable to the unconditional love I have for her,” described Minoo. “It’s the best feeling in life.”

A journey made to survive

Immigrating across the world is never easy, but Minoo and Yasamin’s journey to the US proved to be more challenging than expected. Originally from Iran, the sanctions imposed on the country made it nearly impossible to finance this move, but they found a way.

They had to.

In 2007, Minoo was diagnosed with breast cancer. Because of the limited medications and treatment available in Iran, they felt like their only option for survival was to come to the US despite the financial hardship and stress.

“I don’t know how I got through it,” Minoo reflected. “But I did know that I wanted to be healthy for myself and my child.”

It was through this experience that Yasamin learned how strong her mom truly was. Yasamin was there for every chemotherapy treatment. And, despite the immense pressure and stress of migrating while managing her mom’s illness, she found hope in her mom’s resilience.

“She wouldn’t let me talk to her like she was sick, and she refused to feel sick. Her strong mindset was what got her through this,” remembers Yasamin.

Once Minoo was in remission, they moved back to Iran and reunited with Yasamin’s father, Ahmed. Unfortunately, Minoo was diagnosed again in 2011, so they packed up their belongings again, and all three traveled back to the US. Even then, they didn’t lose hope and clung to their resilient nature.

Now, Minoo is finally cancer-free and the family has stayed in the US for good.

A family of mountains

Throughout all of this, Yasamin was getting an education and working to make a better life for herself and her family. While she was getting her master’s degree in computer science at California State University – Fullerton, she was also the one putting a roof over their heads. She worked three jobs at the university: teacher’s assistant, resident assistant, and computer programmer.

Now, she’s even pursuing another degree while working at Ria, a master’s in business administration.

It’s not surprising to Minoo (or to us at Ria, for that matter), that Yasamin is able to juggle all of this.

“She was a very decisive girl when she was young,” said Minoo. “She’s always known what she wants to do!”

But more than that, it’s clear that Minoo’s nurturing nature played a big role in this as well. She was as immovable as a mountain during her cancer treatment, but in reality, she has always been a mountain.

When explaining what it takes to be a mother, Minoo said: “Be their friend. Don’t judge them, and don’t compare them to other kids. Every kid is unique, so identify their strengths and help them with their weaknesses. Be the strong mountain they can rely on.”

Mother’s Day for Minoo

Minoo described past Mother’s Day celebrations as “very, very big.” Yasamin always makes a point to take Minoo to nice, fun places like Laguna Beach or brunch at golf clubs.

However, this year Yasamin is planning on having a virtual celebration for her mom and a gift shipped to her house to eliminate the risk of her getting sick. Minoo is cancer free now, but her past battle puts her at risk in the current COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of the interview on March 26, her and her husband had been at home for 15 days.

This Mother’s May, we at Ria hope you guys have a fantastic time together and can get out of the house after this is all over. Thank you, Minoo and Yasamin, for taking the time to tell us your story.

Happy Mother’s May to you and all the moms reading this! Be sure to check out the rest of our Mother’s May series.

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