Sal Khan

Most of my heroes are already dead. Luckily, most of them are writers who have left detailed explanations of their thoughts and beliefs. There are a few non-writers that I admire, but they lived in extraordinary periods of history that drew out their greatness. That being said, there are a few contemporary heroes whom I find inspiring as well. Sal Khan is one of these heroes.

Salman "Sal" Khan (born October 11, 1976) is an Indo-Bangladeshi American educator, entrepreneur, and former hedge fund analyst. He is the founder of the Khan Academy, a free online education platform and nonprofit organization. From a small office in his home, Khan has produced more than 4,300 video lessons teaching a wide spectrum of academic subjects, mainly focusing on mathematics and the sciences. As of May 2013, the Khan Academy channel on YouTube attracted 1,233,000 subscribers and the Khan Academy videos have been viewed over 283 million times. In 2012, Time named Salman Khan in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Forbes magazine put Salman Khan on its cover with the story "$1 Trillion Opportunity". Salman Khan holds four degrees: a BS in mathematics, a BS in electrical engineering and computer science, as well as an MS in computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In late 2004, Khan began tutoring his cousin, Nadia, in mathematics over the internet using Yahoo!'s Doodle notepad. When other relatives and friends sought his tutoring, he decided it would be more practical and beneficial to distribute the tutorials on YouTube where he created an account on 16 November 2006. Their popularity on the video sharing website and the testimonials of appreciative students prompted Khan to quit his job as a hedge fund analyst in late 2009 to focus on developing his YouTube channel, Khan Academy, full-time with the aid of his long-time friend Josh Gefner. He delineated his motives: "With so little effort on my own part, I can empower an unlimited amount of people for all time. I can't imagine a better use of my time.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Khan_(educator)

I consider Sal a friend even though he doesn’t know me. This is because Sal’s videos have helped me to homeschool my son. His familiar voice has explained everything from trigonometry to chemistry to my son over the last several years. Like me, Sal is an Indian-American. He is six years younger than I am, but I look up to him like I would an older brother. If I ever had a chance to have Sal over for coffee and biscotti, I would have so many questions to ask him: What did your mom say when you quit your high-profile job to make youtube videos full-time? Did anyone in the Indian community think you were wasting your talent and education? Was it difficult to sit in a walk-in closet, studying all these different subjects, so as to make these videos for strangers? Did you ever feel discouraged, lazy, bored, or insignificant? Sal’s been interviewed by many famous journalists, but none have asked him these particular questions.

There are many other altruistic, talented, and successful individuals in this world. Most of them remain largely unknown, leading inconspicuous lives dedicated to service. In general, certain cultures are more supportive of volunteerism, while others are more focused on education, professional development, and financial success. Sal Khan uses his talents to empower others, even though it means giving up some of his own power. His altruism extends beyond his family, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and nationality. I think another great Indian hero would have approved…

“Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men” (Mahatma Gandhi)