My family’s story offers a window into the hope and promise of the American experiment. I was born in Philadelphia in 1976, our bicentenary. My parents are immigrants who, like millions of others, came to our nation with the hope of a better life. As a substitute teacher in Bucks County public schools, my mother helped motivate the next generation to succeed. As a chemical engineer with Rohm & Haas in Bristol, my father pushed progress in technical innovation. Their hard work and sacrifice enabled me and my brother to receive an outstanding public school education and, today, to devote ourselves to public service.