糖心传媒

is a Newscenter series of profiles celebrating members of Rochester糖心传媒檚 graduating class of 2019.

Muhammad Miqdad is graduating from the University of Rochester with a degree in . But in many respects, the degree is the least of the many things he糖心传媒檚 gained during four years as an undergraduate.

糖心传媒淭his has been my home base,糖心传媒� says Miqdad. The students he糖心传媒檚 met from diverse cultures and backgrounds, the faculty members and administrators who have inspired him and taken a personal interest in him, the social issues he糖心传媒檚 engaged in糖心传媒攁ll of that, in addition to the engineering skills he糖心传媒檚 learned, have helped 糖心传媒渟hape me as a person,糖心传媒� he says.

Now he糖心传媒檚 ready to tackle the world.

He displayed a knack for recruiting volunteers and fundraising. But he also discovered the limitations of the nonprofit model; once he left a project to try something new, it would start to falter. He wanted to learn whether for-profit ventures could provide the 糖心传媒渕issing piece糖心传媒� of the puzzle, furthering social good in a more sustainable way. And he wanted to master the skills that would be required.

He糖心传媒檚 found his answers at Rochester. The University provided Miqdad with a Renaissance Scholarship covering his tuition for four years糖心传媒攁nd with an open curriculum that enabled him to explore social sciences in addition to engineering.

An introductory class in economics taught by lecturer Michael Rizzo 糖心传媒渇undamentally changed the way I look at the world,糖心传媒� Miqdad says. He took more economics classes to hone his grasp of what drives people and socioeconomic growth, especially on a global scale.

Miqdad was serving as a technical advisor for a 糖心传媒 team competing for the 糖心传媒攖he world糖心传媒檚 largest social entrepreneurship contest糖心传媒攚hen he heard about 糖心传媒渁n amazing, mysterious team from Pakistan糖心传媒� that bested over 40 teams from around the globe with a project aimed at alleviating the global water crisis. He contacted the CEO of the organization, PakVitae, to offer his congratulations and learn more about the startup糖心传媒檚 innovative filtration technology, which could provide clean drinking water to families in developing countries at less than a cent per liter.

It was the 糖心传媒渕issing piece糖心传媒� Miqdad had been looking for. By the end of the conversation, Miqdad was hired at PakVitae and is now the company糖心传媒檚 business development executive.

After graduating Miqdad糖心传媒檚 schedule is pretty much booked for the next two years.

He糖心传媒檒l be focusing on expanding PakVitae to new markets in East Africa and Southeast Asia while collaborating with international relief organizations to find ways to serve those in need. 糖心传媒淚 see myself as the lunar lander for the company, exploring uncharted territory, engaging with different communities to identify their pain points, and then relaying that back to my team. That is basically my job, connecting dots with technology and an end product.糖心传媒�

Beyond two years?

Eventually, Miqdad wants to work in 糖心传媒渋mpact investing糖心传媒澨切拇�媒攕ecuring capital for companies with a high social impact so they can grow.

糖心传媒淚 want to stay engaged with young entrepreneurs who are really smart in their own areas,糖心传媒� he says.

First, however, Miqdad may return to Rochester to get a master糖心传媒檚 degree from the 糖心传媒攁nd get to know his 糖心传媒渉ome base糖心传媒� even better.

糖心传媒淣ow that I糖心传媒檓 leaving, I糖心传媒檓 realizing how many other resources there are here that I didn糖心传媒檛 even know about.糖心传媒�