User:Skamyans
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| Sam Kamyans | |
| Born | July 1982 1982  Tehran, Iran |
|---|---|
| Residence |  Los Angeles, California |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Barbara, B.S. Pure Mathematics; Loyola Law School, J.D. (forthcoming May 2008) |
| Occupation | Student |
| Religious beliefs | Jewish |
| Spouse | Currently in a relationship |
Sam Kamyans is a naturalized American Citizen living in Los Angeles, California. He was born to Jewish parents Kathy Tizabgar (b. 1962) and Simon Kamyans (b. 1952) in Tehran, Iran on July 5th 1982. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, his father decided to stay in the country. Unfortunately, times became very difficult, especially during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and the family immigrated to United States in 1986 as refugees. While immigrating to the US, the family briefly stayed in Vienna, Austria, where Daniel Sassan Kamyans, his only younger brother was born.
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[edit] Early life
The family initially settled in Van Nuys, California, a primarily immigrant neighborhood vastly dominated by Mexican Americans. Sam attended a public school for kindergarten in the area, but shortly thereafter went to a private school. In 1991, his family moved to Tarzana, California, a part of the San Fernando Valley known for its sharp division between wealthy and poorer working class citizens.
In 1999, Sam’s mother earned her degree from the California State University at Northridge, and immediately took a teaching position at Portola Middle School (Tarzana) to teach science. That same year, she divorced her husband and took full custody of the children.
[edit] Family Life
Sam's younger brother Danny is a natural artist and musician, and is very talented in both fields. He has received no formal instruction in either discipline, but currently works on paintings, and has recently began decorating homes of wealthy homeowners[1] with murals. Sam and his brother have had a rocky relationship growing up, but have grown closer since 2000.
Sam's mother teaches at Portola Middle School in Tarzana, California. She currently teaches at the eighth grade level, and throughly enjoys her profession.
[edit] Schooling
[edit] Primary education
Sam did not know any English when his family settled in Los Angeles. He was placed in a kindergarten in Van Nuys. Remarkably, he mastered the English language within a few weeks, and was quickly placed in gifted and high honors sections in his elementary school[2].
In 1988, his father decided to place him in Emek, a private Jewish academy. During this time, Sam displayed what his teachers described as “anger issues”, but he excelled well beyond all of his peers in every discipline and was again placed in gifted and honors classes. In addition to his schoolwork, he was always described by his peers as being eccentric, and on countless occasions called a “weird guy”. At home, during his elementary school years, there was a great deal of marital strife between his parents, mainly over financial issues.
In 1993, Sam was placed back in the public school system along with his brother Danny. Danny attended Nestle Elementary in Tarzana, California, while Sam went to Portola Junior High School, also in Tarzana. Again, Sam was placed into gifted and high honors courses, but his grades began to suffer. Later he would attribute this decline to a complete lack of motivation, especially due to the lack of a competent father figure. However, even though he put forth little effort, he managed to earn good grades and stay in honors and gifted courses.
[edit] Secondary Education
In 1996, Sam enrolled at Taft High School(Los Angeles) in Woodland Hills, California. There, he began developing a passion for math and science. He constantly heard his teachers question his motives for “wasting his potential.” During these years, he had few friends, but was well liked by those who knew him. He befriended Danny Hassid, and the two continue to be best friends to this day, mainly due to their collective cynicsm and interests in similar topics. Others at the school labeled him as a strange guy, or an odd duck, but regardless of what others had to say, Sam stayed Sam. While in high school, Sam came to know Ms. Cheryl Snider, a math teacher that sparked his interest in the subject. He always excelled in math courses, and ultimately finished out high school with a great deal of Advanced Placement credit. Though his grades weren’t stellar, he did well enough to go to a university after high school.
[edit] Higher Education
[edit] College Life
Sam received his Bachelor of Science in Pure Mathematics from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2004. College life was a blessing for Sam. He was more motivated to work in college and truly loved his subject matter. When later asked on interviews why he chose math of all topics, he replied “I wanted a challenge”. His social life in college, in his own words, was like “being in Disneyland, only instead of Disney, it was designed by Hugh Hefner.” He lived in Isla Vista, a small college town directly adjacent to Santa Barbara’s main campus, and built right on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Isla Vista is a one square mile area primarily occupied by college students and a very small Mexican population. For the most part, college life involved a lot of drinking, socializing and experimentation.
It was there that Sam realized the power of his mind. While he never refused a party, a road trip, or just about any far-fetched ideas him and his friends hatched, he was one of his only friends to actually graduate on time.
In June, 2004, Sam graduated, but didn’t want to leave Santa Barbara, so he and his friend, James Kresl spent the summer of 2004 in Isla Vista, before moving back home.
After Santa Barbara, Sam moved back to Encino, California to live with his mom and brother. He began tutoring in math and quickly racked up a satisfied customer base. At this point, he decided to go to law school. Sam began Loyola Law School in the Fall of 2005, a very expensive undertaking that left him significantly in debt. In the Spring of 2007, Sam took a tax course and developed a deep seeded passion for the subject. He decided this would be niche in the legal profession. As a result, he took several more tax classes, and earned a 4.1 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. At this point, he decided to continue his education by earning an LLM in taxation. Thus far, he has applied to New York University and Georgetown, the numbers 1 and 2 schools in the country, respectively, for taxation. So far, Georgetown has granted him admission.
[edit] Current life
Sam currently lives in Encino with his mother and brother. He is also currently involved in launching a business venture with his long time friend, Houman Salem, the Chief Executive Officer of Forplay, a Hollywood, California based lingerie company. While most people around him describe as a bit eccentric, weird, and sometimes loony, those close to him have a tendency to enjoy his presence.
As of March, 2008, Sam is deciding on where to get his LLM in Taxation. He is also very excited about the prospect of his new venture with Mr. Salem, and is happy to lend his services in getting the project off the ground.
[edit] Hobbies
Sam's hobbies are primarily intellectual pursuits, though he seldom ever misses a Los Angeles Lakers game. He watches almost every game with his younger brother, and they try to catch games at Staples Center when they can. Sam is very interested in capital/financial markets and seldom goes a day without analyzing global and domestic markets. In addition, he loves to read and has read literally thousands of books in his lifetime. On windy days, he loves to sail with Mr. Salem.
