A bit of motivation for those suffering from low CGPA and for those thinking there is no path in their lives, this will be a bit long but bear with me.
For starters, I began my BRACU journey with 2 Cs in my A Levels grade sheet and in my first semester I ended up with C+ in BUS101 as I fell severely ill towards the end of the semester. I still live with those grades and even when I applied and got accepted at McGill, I had that C+ perching at the very top of my transcript. I never chose to retake that course as I told myself this will remind me to remain humble and remember how I got to start my journey.
Even when I had graduated from McGill with a concentration in Data Science, I struggled to get a job in that field since my prior experience only comprised of Financial Management and nothing in Data Science. And this went like this for ten months. In Bangladesh, I left my job during COVID-19 deciding to pursue studies abroad. Unfortunately, during this time, my marriage fell apart which eventually led to my divorce. My family too even started thinking nothing good would ever come to me and our relationship too dwindled.
When I came to Canada, I resorted to never settle for odd-survival type of job. I applied desperately to on-campus jobs and eventually got a few of them with which I made my living. After graduation, I applied to hundreds of jobs with no avail. Apparently, my experiences from Bangladesh never mattered much to the interviewers as they always sought experiences relevant only to Canada. I found no one who would refer me to a meaningful job.
Then one day I incidentally applied for a managerial position at McGill to which I never paid much attention. Then one month after applying I got a call for a phone interview. I did not even remember the position’s title and stuttered during my entire interview as I struggled to remember the job description of the position I am being interviewed for. But something in that interview clicked which made the recruiter like me and invited me to a Zoom interview. The Zoom interview went on with several background noises around me, yet they eventually asked me for an in-person interview. This was the only instance when I was able to give a proper interview. I finally got the job in the financial management for the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
On my first day, I shook hands with the former Dean of Faculty of Engineering and the Chairman of Mechanical Engineering. I told them, “It is an honor to meet you.” They both patted me in the shoulder, and said, “It is also an honor to have you in our team, young man.”
Currently, I manage more than 300 research grants for more than 30 professors for an entire department and I even provide financial advice to personnel with CFA and CPA degrees at the operational level since I am the one who does the overall financial management whereas I do not even have a Master’s degree in Finance.
For those who want to excel in the field of finance, you need possess that financial intelligence in financial analysis and be detail oriented. It’s like a sixth sense when you look into the financial statements and dashboard, you can say there are possible discrepancies. Part of my job is to identify mishaps in fund management and be an advisor to the professors and the other financial staffs. Back in Bangladesh, I used to observe more than 40 banking transactions for Nagad whereas now I take care of more than 300 funds.
When I make arrangements to disburse stipends and scholarships for Engineering thesis-based graduate and PhD students or when CFA and CPA holders ask me for reference for a job at McGill; I tell myself, just a few days ago, I used to be the person who searched relentlessly for possibilities of scholarships and I still am the same person who got C+ in BUS101, not being a CA, CPA or CFA. Yet, I am working with the best minds from this world at one of the most prestigious Universities in this world. I even recently got invited to a faculty meal recently by the new Dean. I will forever be indebted to all the instructors from BRACU, I firmly believe this journey wouldn’t have been possible without your help during my undergraduate days.
So my advice to young people who are struggling– never undermine yourself; be proud of who you are; do not fret over your failures; do not compare yourself with anyone else since this your story, you need to weave it in your own way; try to excel from where you stand and never despair the mercy of Allah.