Long before he became the development director for the Downtown Billings Partnership, Mehmet Casey never intended to be a permanent resident of Billings, Montana. Growing up in Baghdad, he earned a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching scholarship that allowed him to come to the US on a student visa. Soon, he found he would seek asylum here, and now, more than 18 years later, he is a citizen, and Billings is now his home. Growing up in a vastly different culture and discovering the differences of where he now lives helped him realize that our identity and differences don’t separate us as we think; they connect us.
Just Try to Blend in and Be Safe
Most of us, when visiting or living in different cultures, feel we need to blend in. Assimilate into the culture, integrate, and try not to stand out or act differently so we can be safer and more comfortable. When Mehmet first came to Billings, he didn’t intend to stay long-term. While here, though, he looked forward to what it meant to be different. He quickly found out, though, that he would retreat into his own comfortable and safer tactic of blending in. It turns out that the idea we paint in our minds is vastly different than what we ultimately experience when we arrive.
When he realized that this would be his permanent home, he had to reconcile within himself: would he adapt, or stay “different”?
Assumptions Limit Understanding
If we all do what we actually say we can do, how much hidden potential would be uncovered? How accepting would we be as individuals, as a society, as a culture, as a country, or as a world? Accepting our differences will enable us to address the genuine issues that confront us as humans, because our differences are precisely what make teams, systems, and communities stronger.
When we embrace diversity, we drive resilience. We can come up with creative solutions and adaptability. Because when we make assumptions, we’re limiting our understanding. Making assumptions means we can’t see someone’s full story, as we don’t know if they’re masking, adapting, or trying to survive in ways we simply don’t see.
But when we embrace acceptance of our differences, that’s what allows people and communities to thrive together.
Defining Our True Identity
When you come to the main event on September 26th, you’ll hear all about Mehmet’s ideas. You’ll be challenged to think about how you perceive other people. You’ll learn that we often make those assumptions, but we don’t really have the full story. Are our assumptions based on what we see, what we feel, and what our preconceived notions are?
Everyone’s story runs much deeper than what’s visible on the surface. But when we become welcoming, we find connection. And we can start to embrace the diversity rather than fear it.
Get to Know Mehmet “Mo” Casey
From Baghdad to Billings, Mehmet pours out love and gratitude to his family and lifelong friends (whom he started to embrace as sort of an extended family as he embraced differences and diversity). It was only through these differing relationships that he was able to grow both personally and professionally.
His career path has been anything but linear, but one thing has never changed: when we refuse to stop learning, we can continue to grow.
Learn more about him when you read his interview with Danielle Dahl and Resilient Stories.
