Naji Algaal

Naji chose Emory as his academic home for two reasons: interdisciplinary education and the city of Atlanta.  As someone interested in the intersection of law, technology, and finance, Naji found that "Emory was the best choice for me because of its roots in liberal arts and pre-professional programs within business."

Upon entering Goizueta, Naji's interests were mainly in finance.  As he progressed through his foundational business core courses, he also found that he grew an interest in Organization & Management (OAM), particularly the balance of skill sets gained from these classes like strategy, communication, and purpose. As a result, Naji enrolled in an OAM class nearly every semester even though his declared area depth was in finance.  In addition to his coursework in finance and OAM, Naji pursued a full second major in Emory College of Arts & Sciences in Philosophy, Politics, & Law, where he had the opportunity to write an honors thesis.

Naji found that Goizueta has a culture of belonging, hard work, and experiential learning. "This is evident through fun event outings, guest speakers, networking initiatives, orientation, and advisor meetings--Emory BBA's culture creates a helpful support system for our students to learn, grow, and explore."

This truly came to light as Naji took advantage of the various experiential opportunities made available to him.  "I participated in our Business Communication class' final project competition--which allowed us to employ all the skills we gained throughout the semester in a meaningful way by focusing on improving our client's culture to address the issue of quiet-quitting within Gen Z employees. I also participated in Emory's  SAHI Health Policy Case Competition. My group pitched a solution for improving mental health resources for college students vis-a-vis an AI mental health chatbot. As a BBA student, this allowed us to explore the intersection of finance, healthcare, and technology."

Naji's next steps are to pursue a career in finance that involves investment management, M&A, or strategy. The BBA Career Management Center played a pivotal role in his preparation by offering many resources on theircanvas class module--from networking, resume workshops, handshake, and career opportunities. "The biggest preparation in part for my next steps came from faculty, my advisor, and senior BBA students--at the time--who were always happy to make time for a coffee chat to provide helpful and meaningful guidance.  In addition, Goizueta's BBA curriculum has taught mehow interconnected the study and work of business is, and thus, my goals are to enhance my skill sets that will allow me to contribute in an impactful way for the future."