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“TRIBUTE TO MANSOUR KARIM” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S1665 on April 5, 2016.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO MANSOUR KARIM
Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I recognize Mansour Karim of Pierre, SD. Mr. Karim's life story is inspiring, and his contributions to his community and the State of South Dakota are worthy of commendation.
Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, to a poor family, Mr. Karim dreamed of moving to the United States to pursue his higher education. That dream became a reality in November of 1950, when Mr. Karim arrived at the Port of New York and New Jersey with a limited English vocabulary and only $27 in his pocket. He had originally planned to attend the University of Michigan, but was worried that the growing Iranian immigrant population there would keep him from being immersed in the culture of the United States. He decided to study at Huron College in Huron, SD.
Mr. Karim's journey to South Dakota was challenged by the barriers of an unfamiliar nation, but he had his faith and was often helped by strangers along the way. He studied at Huron College for a year before transferring to South Dakota State College, now known as South Dakota State University, from which he graduated in 1955 with a degree in civil engineering. He would later receive his master's degree in engineering from the same school. Mr. Karim served 35 years with the South Dakota Department of Transportation in South Dakota's capital city of Pierre. Though a dedicated civil servant, he found his passion doing something he never could have done in his home country of Iran.
He invested in rental properties, starting modestly. Eventually, through hard work, wise investment, and trusted relationships, he achieved great success in providing affordable, quality rentals for residents in the Pierre area. Mr. Karim did not do this alone. His wife, Ruth, provided support to the enterprise as the two of them raised their seven children.
Ruth Karim cofounded South Dakota Right to Life and served as its executive director for 19 years. Prior to Ruth passing away in 2013, Mr. Karim worked with the Saint Mary's Foundation in Pierre to set up the Ruth Karim Endowment that would help nursing students who value protecting the sanctity of life and fund their education at Ruth's alma mater, the University of South Dakota.
When looking back on his life, Mr. Karim is quick to recognize those who helped him move to South Dakota. He also remembers how, as a young child, he gave a beggar a penny, though he wished he had been able to give more. That giving nature has continued throughout his life, with Mr. Karim having given more than $2 million to charities throughout South Dakota, with a focus on education and children's needs. He created the Mansour and Ruth Karim Scholarship Endowment in 2004 at South Dakota State University. Due to these charitable contributions Mr. Karim has been the recipient of many awards, including being named Pierre's Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year in 2011.
I, like the residents of Pierre and others across South Dakota, have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Karim. His passion for the United States and the freedoms it affords and his genuine care for his community is contagious. In conversations, Mr. Karim will often say that his experience could only be possible in the United States. His story is another real-life example of the American dream as reality and what makes our Nation great, to succeed and to give back, so that others may succeed.
It is for these reasons that I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Mr. Karim for his generous philanthropic work and thank him for making South Dakota his home.
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