The loss of his father manifested a need
in Ehsan. A need to honor his father
and carry forward all he’d been taught.
This need led to the establishment of
the Rezvan Foundation of Excellence in
2015 by Ehsan and his wife Elizabeth.
Through the Foundation, Ahmad’s
legacy continues in the form of scholar-
ships awarded to students who display
a passion for education, and who, with-
out help, would be unable to further
their schooling.
“The scholarship is set to support
up to 25,000 dollars a year toward only
tuition, up to four years. So potentially
that’s 100,000 dollars in four years,”
Ehsan said.
This year on February 4 th , the
Rezvan Foundation held its first annual
fundraiser, raising over 120,000 dollars.
“I think the Rezvan Foundation is
so important because there needs to be
many of these little balloons on a tree to
help underprivileged kids get a college
education, so that they can make the
country better,” Rezvan Foundation
Board member, Ron Elliot, said.
“February 5 th is my dad’s birthday, so
we wanted to have the fundraiser the
night before his birthday,” Ehsan said,
adding, “ It was an amazing success.
Over 210 people showed up for our
first gala.”
Ehsan’s hope for future recipients of
the scholarships is that they carry on
the story behind it, Ahmad’s struggle
to pursue his dream, which began
when he was 14. His father, Hossein,
suddenly died of a heart attack. As the
eldest of four children, Ahmad immedi-
ately became, “the man of the family.”
“He has three kids to take care of,
and a mom to take care of, and he was
expected to go to work, full-time,”
Ehsan said.
In the Rezvan family, education
was never a priority. The exception
to that belief was Hossein, who
always prioritized his son’s education.
Ahmad was determined not to let
his father down, so he continued his
education. After school he’d go to
work at his factory job, which lasted
late into the evening. Even with all his
responsibilities, Ahmad still made time
for his schoolwork.
46
“At night, when everyone was
asleep, he would take a lantern under
the sheet, and study, without anyone
knowing,” Ehsan said.
Ahmad continued this routine for
the next four years, and upon gradu-
ating high school with top honors,
he made the local paper. It was only
then that his family discovered his
secret. To fulfill his dream of becoming
a physician, college was Ahmad’s
next step. That meant taking Iran’s
mandatory university Standardized
Admissions Examination, the Konkur.
“My father was an
amazing man…in his
career, he had a policy,
he never forgot his roots,
he never forgot where he
came from. “If a patient
came in that couldn’t
afford (care), he would
not charge them.”
Unconvinced he’d do well enough
on the exam to be accepted at a top
university, Ahmad sold his beloved
violin and purchased a prep test in
order to prepare for the exam. He
then spent the following year working
during the day, devoting his nights,
and days off, to studying in the park,
continuing to keep his education a
secret from his family. When it came
time for dinner, unable to go home,
Ahmad asked local grocers to give
him the food they were planning to
throw out.
“That was his dinner. He’d wash it
literally in the street, and eat it. That
was how he survived,” Ehsan said.
When the year was up, Ahmad took
the exam, and a few weeks later, on his
way home from work, one of the neigh-
borhood kids, waving a newspaper
in the air, yelled at him. Once again,
Ahmad made the paper.
“He got accepted to the Tehran
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University, which is equivalent to
Harvard…back then it was the most
prestigious school there was in the
Middle East, the whole Middle East,”
Ehsan said smiling.
Upon hearing the news, Ahmad’s
Uncle Abbas offered him a loan, which
provided the money his family needed,
freeing Ahmad of the responsibility
and allowing him time to devote to his
schooling.
“So if it wasn’t for his uncle to give
him a hand, he wouldn’t be able to go
(to the University),” Ehsan said, adding,
“That hand that was given to my dad,
and that perseverance that my dad had
for education, it basically set a course
for generations to come.”
After graduation, Ahmad pursued
his dream of becoming a physician and
eventually became one of Iran’s leading
pathologists.
“In Iran, he was regarded, he would
walk around the street and everybody
would know who he was, and call
him by name,” Elizabeth said, adding,
“Everybody had so much respect for
him.”
In December 1989, Ahmad moved
his family to Columbus, Ohio, and
for the next 17 years he split his time
between his family and his medical
practice in Iran until his retirement in
2006.
“My father was an amazing man…
in his career, he had a policy, he never
forgot his roots, he never forgot where
he came from,” Ehsan said, adding, “If
a patient came in that couldn’t afford
(care), he would not charge them.”
Ehsan thinks about Ahmad “almost
every day” and believes if his father
were here today, he would be very
pleased with the steps his son’s taken to
ensure the continuation of his legacy.
“He was a very hard working man,
he was very diligent. He sacrificed his
entire life for education, of himself, and
us. He was the main figure in all of our
lives,” Ehsan said.
The Rezvan Foundation is actively
seeking scholarship candidates. Next
year’s fundraiser will be held on
February 3 rd , 2018.
For more information go to:
rezvanfoundation.com/.
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