Born in
Freetown,
Sierra Leone, Sarian came to America in
search of a better life. Employed at a radio
station in her country, she came to America to
go to college. Shortly after moving to
Washington, D.C., she met the love of her
life, married him, got pregnant and put off her
education. A year later, when he left her, she
had no savings and no job; she and her son ended
up in a homeless shelter.
Sarian’s life-defining moment came to her one
day when she went to the store to buy milk and
was turned away at the counter because she
didn't have enough food stamps. That night, she
had to fill her son's bottle with water, and it
was the electric shock she needed to realize
that this was not the life she had come to
America to pursue. It was time to take
responsibility and let go of the past.
She heard about a training course that would
help her get a job upon completion. She signed
up and landed a position as a bank teller. A few
years later, she knew this was not to be her
ultimate destiny. She wanted something more. And
that's when the idea of starting her own
business came to fruition. There she met her
true love, Jon Bouma, her lover and mentor.
"I've always been a big dreamer," Sarian
said. "It's what brought me to this country."
She once dreamed of cleaning the office of the
President of the United States. Four years later
she was awarded the contract for the New
Executive Office Building where the President's
staff works. Sarian teaches people to dream big
and follow their dreams. When it seems you are
at the end of your rope, that's when you stand
up and pull harder.
Today, Sarian is the founder of Capitol
Hill Building Maintenance, Inc.; author of
Welfare to Millionaire: Heart of a Winner; a
recipient of the National Council of Negro
Women, Inc., award; a recipient of the national
"Women of Enterprise" award by the Avon
Corporation, in conjunction with the U.S. Small
Business Administration and Maryland's "Top 100
Women."
