For Business Grad Nervana Naguib, NJIT was Utopia Ahead of Law School

Nervana Naguib, in a break from planning her summer travel to Egypt and autumn law school enrollment, said her undergraduate experience at NJIT was exactly what she wanted from a college.

Naguib grew up in Jersey City, attended McNair Academic High School and joined Martin Tuchman School of Management. She graduates with a B.S. in business, dual concentrations in financial technology and innovation/entrepreneurship, plus a minor in legal studies.

Naguib became interested in business and law during childhood. She observed her father, who grew up in Egypt and owns a small plumbing business, struggling to understand American rules and regulations. She wants to help people like him and she's interested in technological solutions to such problems.

"I'm happy with the B.S. degree because it connected me to my dad and my family that much more," Naguib said.

Meanwhile, "I always knew that law was on the table. I was always interested in corporate and company law because of my dad's job. I'd always be the one he'd go to, with letters to translate, what does this mean," she explained. "I knew that having a business degree and then using it in law school will allow me to connect better with clients in my future job."

Her major decision is which law school to attend. Her heart is with Fordham University, in The Bronx, which she likes because of its large immigrant population — Naguib was born in Egypt, moving to the U.S. and earning citizenship as a child — along with the proximity to home and to America's business epicenter. But after paying her acceptance deposit, she was offered a scholarship to Washington University in St. Louis, which is equally appealing as a highly-ranked institution.

Looking back at her time as a Highlander, "At NJIT, I knew that it was a time for discovery and I knew I'd be able to do that, when I was able to see myself, see others around me, and I was able to relate to them better. The opportunity was unmatched," Naguib said.

She commuted to NJIT and quickly made friends who shared her interests inside and outside the classroom, even when the campus was closed in spring 2020. She became involved in Student Senate and a religious organization. Like many business students here, she interned at Avanade and maintains a close relationship with her mentor there. She also bonded with the management school's dean, Oya Tukel, as Middle Eastern women with business interests. They both started at NJIT at the same time.

"One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is being able to motivate, advise, and mentor our incredible students, such as Nervana," Tukel stated. "I shared my personal journey as a hardworking woman who persevered through challenges to achieve my aspirations."

"Never did I think my dean would know me, one-on-one, or that we'd have that relationship," Naguib added. "It definitely made a difference in my four years here. Seeing her in that leadership role, it gets rid of any doubt. If she can do it, and I see that she did it, then there's no doubt that I can do it."

Naguib said her favorite NJIT faculty were Associate Professor Haisu Zhang and former Professor of Practice Steven Gomez, because both educators strived to make the material fun and relevant to her generation, while treating her and classmates as peers, not just names in a gradebook.

Her advice to incoming students, especially commuters and immigrants, is to get involved beyond the classroom. "The relationships and the connections and then networking that I got, they go well beyond academics," she said. "It's so easy for a commuter to come to school, go to class and then leave. But if you genuinely want the college experience, it means staying and doing what you've got to do to make the memories."