Dr. Hitesh Tolani's life has always been about community and support. After his father died when Tolani was 13, leaving him and his family without legal immigration status in the U.S., he had to find the support of politicians to keep him in the country. When he was 20 and a student at Wofford College in the early 2000s, South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond introduced a private relief bill for Tolani and his mother, Jaya, to prevent their deportation.