2019年5月31日- prateek Samal ' 19是一个优等生. The business administration and economics double major has a near-perfect grade point average, 是bet亚洲365欢迎投注荣誉计划的成员吗, and will soon begin studies in Brown University’s Master of Public Affairs program. 正如他所说，“我总是尽我所能. I even start class assignments way too early – my friends hate it!那么是什么驱使萨马尔如此努力工作呢? “我的家族史推动了我. My father is from a poor village in India and lost his father when he was young, but he worked incredibly hard and eventually became a diplomat. If I succeed, it would make all of his sacrifices worth it.”

虽然他是印度外交官的儿子, Samal has never actually lived in his parents’ home country. Instead, he grew up in Sudan, Cuba, Poland, Austria, and Australia. (郑重声明，古巴是他的最爱.萨迈勒在苏丹完成了高中学业, 他申请了美国的高校, UK, 和加拿大. 事情发生时, his school counselor at the Khartoum American School knew Joe Giacalone, 玛丽斯特大学国际招生执行主任. 萨马尔了解了bet亚洲365欢迎投注的商业计划, 小类, 和美丽的校园，并决定参加. 这所学院对他来说既新鲜又熟悉.  “我高中所有的老师都是美国人, 所以上学的经历是相似的, 但在美国生活是如此不同.”

Prateek Samal with his parents after graduating from the Khartoum American school in Khartoum, Sudan

Samal’s international background had some definite advantages as he navigated American college life. He says, “I think my upbringing really opened my eyes to working with all kinds of people with different mindsets and cultures. 你知道什么该说，什么不该说. I’m also more aware of just how vast the world is and how much there is to learn and know.” He also notes that many Americans haven’t had the experience of living in a country and not knowing the language, 这是一件非常卑微的事情. 对他来说, Samal会说英语, Spanish, Hindi, and Odia (the language spoken in his parents’ home state of Odisha), and he has learned to move seamlessly across different cultures.

During his time at Marist, Samal reports that he has had an extremely positive experience. While admitting to being nervous at first about moving to the US, Samal reports that has always “felt very welcome” at Marist and has formed a special bond with other international students because of their “unique shared experiences.” He also credits his experience as a Resident Assistant in Leo Hall with helping him become more extroverted, 学习如何与各种各样的人交谈, 磨练他的社区建设技能.

Samal says that the faculty at Marist have been another major highlight, 注意“他们总是为你准备的。.”  Under the mentorship of Affiliate Professor of International Business Detelin Elenkov, Samal was part of a team that placed second overall in the inaugural International Business Case Competition at San Diego State University last year; it was the first time Marist had fielded a team in an international business competition, and the students bested competitors from several larger institutions with strong international business reputations. He was also one of three students from the School of 管理 selected to travel to Thailand for a United Nations 领导 Symposium. 除了, Samal worked closely with Assistant Professor of 管理 Melinda Weisberg to conduct research on immigration in the Hudson River Valley.

Prateek Samal at the United Nations 领导 Symposium in Thailand

Perhaps the most significant research Samal has done at Marist was for the 荣誉项目. 在Weisberg的指导下工作, his senior project was entitled “A Comparative Review on Child Marriages in India and Ethiopia,” and it recommends ways in which India can emulate Ethiopia’s success in increasing its median marriage age. 他做了广泛的文献综述, 查阅了法律法规和人口普查数据, and utilized reports and data published by various United Nations agencies. 这个问题是萨马尔个人感兴趣的, 因为他是他父母老家的常客, and he has seen firsthand the negative consequences of child marriage.  (At 15.5 million, India has the highest number of child brides in the world.)萨玛尔观察到, “It infuriates me to see young people robbed of a chance to live and pursue an education. Of course, this is a practice that disproportionately affects girls.”

展望未来, Samal will take what he’s learned in business administration and economics (not to mention his minors in global studies and accounting) and apply them to his graduate work at Brown. His initial goal after completing his master’s degree is to work at UNICEF or Save the Children in preparation for a career at the United Nations. His ultimate goal is to start an NGO in India to combat the scourge of child marriage. 基于他的高级研究项目, Samal knows that it’s possible to make progress on this issue, 但建立共识很重要. He notes, “在埃塞俄比亚, both the politicians and the people agreed that child marriage is bad, 他们一起努力改善现状. 同样的共识也必须在印度形成.” Given his ability to relate to people from all over the world and from all walks of life, there is probably no one better positioned than Samal to bring people together around a solution.