Brittany Chambers: You share spending five years in Iran due to your father having difficulty finding work in the US as a result of racism and segregation that permeated during your childhood. How did living in Iran in the beginning of your life shape your vision of the United States?

Valerie Jarrett: My parents departed from the United States during the Jim Crow era; while my father was in the US he felt he was defined by his race. And in Iran, he was considered an American doctor on the merit of his competency. For me to be born in an environment and bear witness to that shaped me. While I was getting a world-class education in Iran, Ruby Bridges was integrating her public school in Louisiana and walking in that first day in that iconic photo. The contrast between those two worlds was not lost on me.

What I learned, having spent those first five years in Iran, was that... First, my parents took me over the color line and raised me in an environment where race was not an issue. Secondly, it broadened my lens and enabled me to find common ground with people from all over the world. I played with children in school or our community who were from countless countries and spoke different languages with parents who had different life experiences and none of that mattered.

Third, I also learned to appreciate the United States in ways that sometimes those who haven't lived outside of the country might take for granted. My father had to boil everything I drank and peel everything I ate to be very conscious of illnesses that could have dire consequences. Then finally, I learned that the United States is already a great country, but it's not the only country on earth, we could learn a great deal beyond our shores .

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