Jaramogi Kareem Adams (my husband) was born in a small South Carolina town called Rock Hill. His journey would begin the moment his mother named him. Jaramogi in ki-swahili means “one who travels often.” Kareem is Arabic for Honorable/Generous. His mother meditated over his name prior to his birth and decided she wanted him to be the honorable traveler. He have also leaned on and embodied his zodiac sign. Leo. Lion. Patient. Reserved. Apt to lead. And ready to pounce should the situation call for it. But also always there to protect the people he holds dear. At 9 months old, Jaramogi, his mother, and his sister moved to New York – products of what he affectionately calls “the great migration of 1977.”
Freshman year in high school, he did a book report on Genghis Khan and became totally enamored by the mystique of Asia. He told himself if he ever were to be able to study these topics again, he would have to do so in college. So he did just that! Jaramogi attended Duke University where he majored in Comparative Areas Studies with a concentration on East Asian Studies and a minor in Japanese. He also got a Markets & Marketing Certificate which was the equivalent of an undergraduate business degree. While knowing and learning anything and everything he could was important, so were the friendships he forged. Most came via Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. To this day, his closest friends in the world come from that organization – that association.
Post-graduation, he did consulting for a couple of years before joining American Express in 2001. Five years after joining the company, he earned a spot in a global job rotation program and finally got his wish to work and live overseas. He spent one year in New Delhi, India followed by one year in various cities in the United Kingdom. He later would land another job opportunity in Sydney, Australia where he stayed for 4.5 years. He also did a 7-month stint in Singapore. He simply wanted to fully live up to the name he was given. The icing on the cake was he enjoyed it!
Family. Friends. Education. Asia. Travel. And the Love of His Life. He have worked hard to allow for each of these items to converge for him on one singular day in 2018. This is his Pride of which he is very proud. Beyond that date on February 22nd, now more than ever he can’t help but feel like the future is limitless! And with his lioness…no…his butterfly fluttering by his side, he is ready to take this Kingdom we call a world by storm.
Very interesting name
If I ever have children, I will definitely find a very meaningful name.