I’m Somya Qureshi, graduate of the Daytime MBA Class of 2007. The one decision and singular opportunity that changed the course of my life, for the better, was attending Fuqua.

I was born and raised in India and graduated with my bachelor’s with honors. I was one of the first women in my family to get a college education, let alone a technical engineering degree. I come from very humble beginnings, and a couple of years in the workforce as an engineer in India truly didn’t fill my cup. I started to think about graduate school abroad but had no means or ideas as to how to pay for it. I was accepted into many business programs in the UK in 2004, but none of them provided full scholarships nor aid, and my bank loans from India were declined due to lack of sufficient assets.

While I almost gave up on my dreams to study abroad, I was made aware of top tier business schools in the U.S. that provided loans for deserving students without need for any collateral. The programs being highly competitive and sought after, if the student was admitted, the university was confident in the potential of these students to repay the loans without any hesitation. The very possibility of this happening and having this opportunity, no matter how distant it seemed at that moment, changed my mindset. I reapplied the following year and was admitted to Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Fuqua truly opened the doors to the world. Upon graduation, I moved to Germany for a strategic marketing role in the datacenter market while acclimating to a foreign culture and language. Fuqua gave me the confidence to tackle bigger challenges, which I would have never imagined before. Since then, I have traveled the globe extensively and visited many countries. I have had a rich and fulfilling career in marketing and strategy in two countries across five industries. I have had the chance to work with some of the smartest and brilliant people who have lifted me up and cheered me on, and I still continue to enjoy and learn every single day. Fuqua made that possible and helped me build a lifelong learning outlook.

Not only did my professional life work out, but my personal life also flourished when I met the love of my life, fellow Daytime MBA Class of 2007 alumnus Fayaz Qureshi. We are blessed to have a smart, healthy, and kindhearted daughter, Zara, and in the process, we united India and Pakistan and gave this world our peace offering.

I’m Somya Qureshi, graduate of the Daytime MBA Class of 2007. The one decision and singular opportunity that changed the course of my life, for the better, was attending Fuqua.

I was born and raised in India and graduated with my bachelor’s with honors. I was one of the first women in my family to get a college education, let alone a technical engineering degree. I come from very humble beginnings, and a couple of years in the workforce as an engineer in India truly didn’t fill my cup. I started to think about graduate school abroad but had no means or ideas as to how to pay for it. I was accepted into many business programs in the UK in 2004, but none of them provided full scholarships nor aid, and my bank loans from India were declined due to lack of sufficient assets.

While I almost gave up on my dreams to study abroad, I was made aware of top tier business schools in the U.S. that provided loans for deserving students without need for any collateral. The programs being highly competitive and sought after, if the student was admitted, the university was confident in the potential of these students to repay the loans without any hesitation. The very possibility of this happening and having this opportunity, no matter how distant it seemed at that moment, changed my mindset. I reapplied the following year and was admitted to Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Fuqua truly opened the doors to the world. Upon graduation, I moved to Germany for a strategic marketing role in the datacenter market while acclimating to a foreign culture and language. Fuqua gave me the confidence to tackle bigger challenges, which I would have never imagined before. Since then, I have traveled the globe extensively and visited many countries. I have had a rich and fulfilling career in marketing and strategy in two countries across five industries. I have had the chance to work with some of the smartest and brilliant people who have lifted me up and cheered me on, and I still continue to enjoy and learn every single day. Fuqua made that possible and helped me build a lifelong learning outlook.

Not only did my professional life work out, but my personal life also flourished when I met the love of my life, fellow Daytime MBA Class of 2007 alumnus Fayaz Qureshi. We are blessed to have a smart, healthy, and kindhearted daughter, Zara, and in the process, we united India and Pakistan and gave this world our peace offering.