Omar Zarabi
- President and CEO
- Port53 Technologies
School Information
School: University of California, Davis
College Major: Business
Years at College Works: 2009 to 2011
Career Information
Working For: Port53 Technologies
Title: President and CEO
Industry: Technology
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
We at Port53 are on a mission to enable businesses to safely and securely thrive in the digital world by delivering enterprise-grade solutions that are easy to deploy, simple to manage, and extremely effective.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?Graduating from UC Davis and getting a job in the field that I love right away.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
College Works Painting was the building block to my professional success, helping me develop skills and confidence that sets me far apart from my peers.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
Immediately after graduation, I was able to find a position in the tech sales field. 3 months later, I am the top performing rep here, and it is simply because of the skills and work ethic I developed with College Works Painting.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
To Ms. Kathy Freeman, my paint training house summer of 2010 in Davis. You showed me that everyone has a story, and the value of taking the time to ask and actually listen to them. Seeing you handle all the different troubles in your life with such a huge smile and a big heart truly made me realize that our attitude is controlled by ourselves, and that fears, stress, and worry are all just a perception. The ability to stay positive and optimistic in every situation is invaluable and even essential, and although you might not have known it at the time, I took away a lot from you in that regards. For that, I truly do thank you from the bottom of my heart.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Having a no excuse mentality around hitting goals, and making it happen.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
I currently live with a close friend from College Works Painting. Three of my four best friends are all from College Works Painting. I have a great network of friends across the USA that are all successful in their own ways, and I love the fact that I can call them whenever and catch up, seeing where they are and what new project they are working on.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Work hard, play hard, learn smart.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
You are in control of your success. It is going to be a challenging experience, but nothing worthwhile comes easy. Follow through on your goals, be disciplined and willing to learn, and after it all, you won’t remember the hard days and work, but you will remember the trips to Cancun, the Payroll Fridays, and the resume College Works Painting helped you build.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
College Works Painting is an internship that will help you in developing skills and traits that will help you in any career path you choose. Whether you want to become a doctor, lawyer, or CEO, the communication, time-management, and people skills you develop with College Works Painting will no doubt help you out in the long run.
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
Booking 27k in one weekend off of 5 estimates, and going into my last week estimate that weekend, which was a training estimate for another RC’s intern, and getting into a closing battle for 3 hours with the client.
Last words of wisdom?
Whether you say you can or you can’t, either way, you are right. This is so true for College Works Painting. If you have the mentality that you are in control of your success and that you can be a top intern, you will be. But if you victimize yourself and blame others, you will have a tough time.