His curiosity motivated Aleksander to travel to UNI where he developed his interests in finance and political science. His drive led him to take advantage of various growth opportunities offered to undergraduate students.

Through support from a UNI Business Undergraduate Research Scholarship as well as a scholarship from the UNI Department of Political Science, Aleks developed a specialty in quantifying how a government's decisions affect its country’s economies, as well as other countries’ economies.

“Politics cannot stop the financial flow because the financial flow is always stronger,” he said.

He continued his quest to go “somewhere” by attending conferences in Taiwan and Russia to present his research.The international group assembled at the conferences gave him an audience to consider his findings. A journey to Fiji allowed him the chance to go to a remote location as he had always yearned to do.

At UNI, he complemented his research pursuits with real-world job experiences. On campus, he worked several jobs. Through a joint program between the College of Business Administration and the Department of Residence, he completed a management internship and worked as a supervisor in one of the dining halls. Later, he was hired as the Student Assistant Manager of Catering.

Off campus, he interned for Aegon USA in Cedar Rapids where he developed new professional contacts and learned how to be a professional in the work place.

In addition to his research and internship experience, he attended the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) review program and passed the CFA® Level I Examination. With a national pass rate of approximately 35%, this immediate success puts Aleks in select company. He plans to take the Level II Exam in 2006.

Aleksander took advantage of much that UNI has to offer -- a challenging education, internships and certification programs for professional development, research experiences to support his curiosity, and international travel to add to his global perspective and understanding. But, as one might expect of Aleksander, he wasn’t finished with his education and through his next venture he gained even more appreciation for UNI.

Upon graduation from UNI, Aleksander began the Master of Science program at Ohio State University in agricultural economics. Now with one year of experience attending a research institution, Aleksander counts himself lucky to have chosen UNI, where the focus is on outstanding undergraduate education and opportunities for undergraduate students are abundant. Hefully understands the importance of having professors who contribute extra time to help students develop the skills and knowledge they need to be successful.

“UNI is a great school for undergraduate studies,” he said. “At OSU, there is a lot of focus on graduate studies and research, so now I see how undergraduate students at UNI get more attention from their professors. I was lucky to have chosen UNI.”

UPDATE January 2006: Aleksander Abram is now employed at the Chicago Board of Trade on the Agricultural Trading Floor.