Alex Rahman: Accounting and finance major excited for ‘Big Four’ internship
When Alex Rahman decided to come to the United States to attend college, he had two goals. He wanted a university that believed in him enough to help him graduate debt free, and one that offered a challenging business curriculum and a diverse set of activities and work experiences outside the classroom, all preparing him for a career in finance.
The University of Maine offered Rahman a full tuition scholarship and the diverse educational experience he wanted.
“After I got here, I looked at the amazing opportunities that UMaine — and MBS (the Maine Business School), more specifically — had to offer. I’ve been blown away,” says Rahman, a senior majoring in finance and accounting.
Rahman, who has a 3.9 GPA, started seizing those opportunities the moment he arrived in Orono. This coming spring, he’s scheduled to take 21 credits. Rahman also works 20 hours a week at several jobs on campus, including serving as a teaching assistant in the financial accounting labs of Dave Barrett, a lecturer in accounting at the business school.
In addition, Rahman serves as chair of Student Government’s Fair Elections Practices Committee. He is a peer tutor in financial accounting, statistics, calculus and business finance. And in August, he began managing the telecommunications sector for the $2.4 million Student Portfolio Investment Fund called SPIFFY.
“I’ve already made two (SPIFFY) pitches,” says Rahman. “Both of them were for over $50,000 each. So already, just this semester, I’ve made an investment of over $100,000. That’s real money. It’s pretty amazing.”
His investment experience and record of academic excellence helped Rahman secure an internship this summer at KPMG in Boston.
“It’s one of the big four accounting firms. I think it will give me a solid background in how a business is being run,” says Rahman, who will work in the company’s Alternative Investments practice.
“I’ll be dealing mostly with hedge funds and private equity funds. It’s great that I got the opportunity to do that because, as I’m sure anyone in the industry knows, getting that real-life experience is key.”
As he moves closer to graduating, Rahman is reflecting on his time at UMaine. He says a number of MBS teachers have been mentors. One is Scott Spolan, the MBA director at MBS and a lecturer in management.
“He taught my very first ever college class,” says Rahman. “He influenced me in a way that shaped how I view what my end goals should be. I still go to him for advice.”
Contact: Jay Field, 207.581.3721; 207.338.8068