On the Cover of Forbes Magazine

I have to admit, when the song Billionaire by Travie McCoy first came out, I somewhat liked it - not because I thought it was brilliantly written (musically or lyrically), but rather because there is this part in the song where he sings something about visiting Katrina. And, well, being that my name is Katrina, I liked the idea of someone singing about visiting me. Even though I knew it wasn’t me he was referring to, it was fun to at least pretend.

But then I started to wonder, “Who exactly is this Katrina that he mentions in his song?” Finally I asked someone about her identity, only to be disappointed to learn that his singing is in reference to the hurricane that hit New Orleans around this time 5 years ago – not some cool girl named Katrina, like me. The actual line is, “I’d probably visit where Katrina hit and damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did.”

Honestly, I use to love my name, convinced that I got the better deal than my sister Bettina. But ever since that hurricane, I’ve been less than satisfied with my name and have been considering having it legally changed - kind of like how I tell people that I did when I was in 2nd grade. (Some of you have heard the Filinda story – which is another story for another day.) But what I want to know is how in the world did I end up with a name that is associated with devastation? That’s not what about. I’m about hope, and faith and life and joy – not destruction.

But the woes of my name is not why I write this post, but rather it is the chorus of the song Billionaire that prompts me to proudly say that I recently met someone whose article is featured on the cover of Forbes magazine. I work for him, actually - he’s the president of the university that I’m now at in NYC. His name is Dinesh D’Souza and his piece entitled How He Thinks – The Root of Obama’s Big Problem with Business recently made it into the magazine. And, well, I think that’s pretty darn cool.