Years ago, I found myself in a cramped 2-bedroom home in Detroit, sharing the space with my family of six.

We had immigrated to the United States with little more than hope and determination. With no savings to fall back on, all of us juggled jobs while pursuing education, striving to make ends meet.

I remember those days of working as a server in Birmingham, trying to fund my engineering studies at Wayne State. It was a relentless uphill battle,...