"You don't get a full picture of anything in this country without talking about immigrants. It's just kind of essential. Especially in the last century, immigrants made the U.S. this amazing powerhouse of technology and science. I came to the U.S. first when I was 15 years old. I didn't know anyone. It was like very, very shocking to get here. It was the biggest kind of shocking experience. My understanding at that time was like a child's understanding of the U.S. It was based entirely on the Simpsons. And when I came to the United States, it was more of a portal that opened and it was much more forward-looking. The U.S. has always been the country of giving people a chance to have new ideas. I don't think everybody can move to a foreign country and kind of start from scratch. Definitely takes a certain type of personality. You have to be really resilient. Perseverance and resilience are really the key. Being true to yourself is sometimes not easy, especially in this political climate and everything. I do think the U.S. is at a turning point. We need all talent. We need to have different perspectives to get the full spectrum. That's what the Vilcek Foundation really does a wonderful job of highlighting the importance of science and art and how immigrants are contributing to our society. Immigrants are not so different than anybody else."