You are in great company!

We all know that the United States, except for our proud Native Americans, is a country completely made up of immigrants and their descendants from just about all corners of the world and from all walks of life.  Think about it for a minute.  Everyone you see around you is either an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant.

Let us take just a short look at a few recent immigrants who have helped shape the United States and contributed to its fine achievements.

In the late eighteen hundreds, Romulado Pacheco, of Mexican heritage, was the first (and only to date) Hispanic governor of California.

Andy Garcia, originally from Cuba, became a well-known actor.

Samuel Goldwyn, film producer and founding contributor of several film studios, was born in Poland in 1882.

Dr. Deepak Chopra, the modern day guru on Ayurveda, mind-body medicine, best-selling author and public speaker is originally from New Delhi, India.

Yo-Yo-Ma is a French born cellist, virtuoso, composer of Chinese descent. He is by far the most famous cellist of our times.

George Zamka, 49, an NASA astronaut and United States Marine Corps pilot, has Polish and Colombian roots.  In 2007, he piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station.  He was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. He also recently visited the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw, Poland.

Dr. Francisco Dallmeier of Venezuelan descent is one of the world's leading wildlife biologists and an expert on biodiversity.

Many books have been written on the contributions that immigrants have made to the development of the United States, but everyone from all walks of life and from all nations contributes to this great country.  What will your contribution be?