Welcome back to This Person I Met! My name is Kayla, and I’m your podcast host.

There are more similarities between an electrician and a professor of mechanical engineering than you may think.

In our interview, Solomon Adera told me of his parent’s lack of education, and how their lack would inspire him to take advantage of any opportunity to learn and use it as a tool to climb upwards, even going as far as to get a postdoctoral from Harvard.

Solomon’s love of mechanical engineering didn’t start when he graduated with a PhD from MIT, pursuing a level of education greater than both of his parents combined, nor did it start when he first stepped foot into a school building. Instead, it started with his dad, a humble electrician pushing him to see education as a tool, and it continues through his legacy and mentorship that he offers as gratitude for having the chance to learn.