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Big Potential: Misam Ali

Misam Ali Promo
Many prospective students know Misam Ali before they even visit the UNL College of Business Administration. Ali has shared her undergraduate opportunities in several UNL recruitment videos and soon she will also appear in the CollegeBound campaign for the University of Nebraska System.

“I received an email asking me to be in a video to be used to recruit students to UNL and CBA and I was happy to help. Sharing my experiences with prospective students lets them know that they can do all of this too. Anything to help educate the future generation,” Ali said.

Born in Benghazi, Libya, Ali and her family now live in Lincoln, Neb. She received a full scholarship to attend UNL and decided to make the most of it by choosing majors in pre-law and finance with an emphasis in banking and financial institutions and a minor in ethnic studies.

Ali chose finance because she wanted to apply her aptitude in mathematics to the study of social science.

“The abstract nature of finance and the concrete precepts in my concentrations in banking and financial institutions have provided me with a wealth of knowledge and the ability to look at problems from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. I have been taught by some of the most brilliant educators in academia,” she said.

Ali, who is in the University Honors Program and president of the W.E.B. Du Bois Honor Society, said her Finance 365 course with Dr. Emre Unlu, assistant professor, proved that finance was her passion.

“Dr. Unlu is a great professor and we talked not only about financial institutions, but also about my post-graduate plans. One thing I have always enjoyed in the finance department is the student-oriented mentality. Dr. Gordon Karels, the chair of the department, is always ready to help. Any time I need assistance, he solves my issues in a matter of minutes, plus he is a great resource,” Ali said.

Karels said he and the other finance faculty greatly enjoyed working with Ali.

“Misam is a most personable, energetic and engaged student. I am confident her dedication and focus in her undergraduate studies will provide the basis to achieve much success in her planned law career,” Karels said.

A recipient of an Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences (UCARE) scholarship, Ali has also conducted research under Dr. Carleen Sanchez, assistant professor of anthropology and ethnic studies, on race and ethnicity in the media and ethnic studies in the new millennium.

“I met Dr. Sanchez my freshman year in Ethnic Studies 100, which was one of the best classes I took at UNL. Every UNL student should be required to take it. I learned so much about myself and the world around me,” she said.

Her research project, Debt Relief of Debt Cycle: A Secondary Analysis of the Heavily Indebted Poor Counties (HIPC) Initiative in African Nations, was published in November 2011 in The McNair Scholars Research Journal.

Ali, who graduates in May, plans to attend law school and pursue a career in international law.

“I have had many experiences at UNL that have made me a more competent citizen of the world, truly a goal of education. I was also able to share my experiences with prospective students. With these four years under my belt, I am now more than ready to conquer the world,” Ali said.
Published: February 7, 2012