Picking Up Where He Left Off

Momin Ali had spent more than a decade helping to build a thriving family business when he realized something was missing from his life.

I came to the U.S. in 1993 with the goal of furthering my education, says Ali, who was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Pakistan. Following his graduation from high school in 1996, he enrolled in Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, where he majored in chemical engineering, but left after the first semester to join his family in launching a financial software company called Tradescape Corporation. The business consumed all of my time and made it hard to attend school, he says.

Unfinished business
Fast forward to 2006: Ali was earning a good living and had the satisfaction of having helped create a successful and highly profitable business. But the fact that he had yet to complete his undergraduate studies was constantly on his mind. Following the sale of Tradescape to eTrade, he says, I realized there was no reason to wait any longer to resume my education and that the longer I waited, the harder it would be.

Although he was welcomed back at Stevens Institute of Technology, Ali was now set on a career in finance, rather than engineering. He also needed a school that could accommodate his work schedule, since he was now employed as assistant controller of a media company.

BMCC was perfect in every way, he says. Majoring in accounting, he maintained a perfect attendance record and high GPA while applying his skills and work experience to tutoring classmates and taking on various student leadership roles. Beginning this fall, he will attend Columbia Universitys School of General Studies to pursue a Bachelors degree in economics.

My work at BMCC was a big factor in my admission to Columbia, Ali says. The school made it clear to me that my academic records here mattered more than my professional experience. Once he receives his degree, Ali says, Id like to work on Wall Street to get more experience in investment banking and, ultimately, go for a Masters in finance.

Giving back
He also hopes to find a way to give back to BMCC. BMCC has really given me a lot, Ali says. My professors especially Stanley Chu in Accounting pushed me to the limit, helped me overcome my weaknesses in accounting and finance, and were always willing to stay after class and answer my questions. Someday, he says, he hopes to return to BMCC, to share my personal and professional experiences with the students, and tell them from my perspective what a great place this is to start a career.

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Education

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• BMCC
• Alumni
• Accounting