Each year Onondaga Community College recognizes distinguished graduates who have made a difference in their community and professional life, naming them "Alumni Faces" honorees. On the night of Wednesday, October 18 at 5:30 p.m. in the Frederick Marvin and Ernst Schuh Recital Hall in the Academic II building, we will pay tribute to the Alumni Faces Class of 2023. In the weeks leading up to the event we are proudly profiling our honorees on our website and social media. Today we introduce you to Anas Almaletti '08.
When Sulieman Almaletti immigrated to the United States from Jordan, his favorite place to eat lunch was at the old Steak and Sundae restaurant at the corner of James Street and Midler Avenue in Eastwood. He loved the food, and he enjoyed watching the steady stream of cars and pedestrians that passed by. When he saw a “for rent” sign go up on a building directly across the street, he thought it would be a great place to own a business. So he signed a lease and opened up a cell phone repair shop with the dream of supporting his family in his new home.
Today that business is known as “Cell Phones 4 Less.” It's store number one in what is now a chain of 50 locations across New York and Pennsylvania. The brains behind the meteoric growth are its co-founders, CEO Anas Almaletti ‘08 and his brother Musa Alamatti. They are two of Sulieman’s six children. "The scale we reached... if you would have asked our father 20 years ago if his kids would have grown the business like this, he would have said 'not in a million years.' All he wanted to do was pay the bills and put food on the table,” said Anas Almaletti.
Anas’ seemingly overnight success story actually began 19 years ago when he graduated from high school in Jordan and came to the United States. His goal was a medical-related career and he planned to begin his higher education journey at Onondaga Community College. But when he took an English Placement Test and didn’t do well, he hit a temporary roadblock. He worked in the store with his father and learned English in a 6-month-long college prep program at CNY Literacy. A half year later, he took the English Placement Test again and scored well enough to enroll at OCC.
He has vivid memories of his first day on campus in the fall of 2006. In calculus class, when the professor passed out the syllabus, he panicked. “I thought we were getting a test on our first day. My professor explained to me it was an outline for what we would do. It wound up being my favorite class. I also loved physics because it was where theory met practice.”
As Almaletti worked toward his Mathematics & Science degree, he also became much better at speaking the language of his new home country. "OCC is where I refined my English in workshops and tutoring sessions. I would write essays for my English As Second Language class. The early days of my life at OCC were a defining moment in the transition. It was a gateway to this world for me. I was a first-generation college student with a new culture and new environment to navigate. The one-on-one interactions helped me navigate an otherwise complicated transition."
Through an internship at a Syracuse hospital, Almaletti realized a medical-related career wouldn’t be a good fit for him. But he loved science so he decided to transfer to SUNY Binghamton where he completed his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2008. When he finished, he returned home to work with his father and brother in the cell phone repair business. Eventually he realized he wanted to grow the business, but didn’t know how to scale up. So he enrolled in a Masters of Business Administration program at Syracuse University.
After his graduation in 2014, Almaletti and his brother Musa saw an opportunity to partner with Cricket Wireless and begin growing their operation as an authorized Cricket Wireless Retailer. That moment was 9 years ago. Today they have 50 Cricket Wireless authorized locations and celebrated their 100,000th customer during the summer. "It's been wonderful partnering with Cricket Wireless to grow and give to the community. We fill a need for value conscious consumers. It's affordable , simple, and reliable. You can get unlimited talk, text, and data for a great value."
One of Almaletti’s locations is at 3001 James Street in Eastwood, the building which at one time was home to Steak and Sundae. It's the new headquarters of Cell Phones for Less. “The mission is to bring to life the Cricket brand in the communities we serve. We want our employees to come here and see that and live that mission. Our purpose is to create meaningful work and meaningful relationships through connecting people."
As his business has grown, Almaletti has been a frequent guest on the OCC campus where he enjoys sharing his story with students and offering them advice. “I tell them it’s okay not to know what you really want to do in life. You’re still trying to figure things out. When I was a student there I believed my career would be in a medical field. My path changed, and everything has worked out.”
Almaletti’s next visit to campus will be in October when he is welcomed into the exclusive club of Alumni Faces honorees. “OCC was my gateway to this world and my transition between Jordan and my life here. My time at OCC shaped part of who I am today. I’m a strong believer in OCC and to be recognized is a great honor.”
