"My father once told me that while I may not be able to change the world, I can change the world for one person. Ever since, I’ve set my sights on changing that one world at the very least."
- Audrey, Grameen U President

Why is it important that college students be part of the microfinance efforts and Grameen America specifically? What do they contribute to the sector?

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

College students are true agents for change. They demonstrate unrivaled commitment to making a difference and are particularly open to innovative and bold ideas. Engaging college students in the microfinance sector secures its place in the future as an effective approach to poverty alleviation worldwide.

How do you describe the Grameen U program to other students?

Grameen U is a student-run initiative intended to educate college campuses about domestic microfinance and to raise awareness of Grameen America’s pioneering work in the sector.

If students are reading this right now what is the first step in getting involved?

Take a walk around your neighborhood and acquaint yourself with one person in need. That’s all it takes. Sign up to be a Grameen U representative and start spreading the word that Grameen America can bring hope and opportunity to your community.

What are your top 3 goals for Grameen U?

1) Communicate the breadth and prevalence of poverty in the United States to as many college students as possible.

2) Demonstrate how domestic microfinance is an effective solution to unemployment and financial exclusion.

3) Educate students as to how they can “be the change” in their own backyard.

Given you’re a highly ambitious student, can you describe your typical school day?

As a student at Northeastern University, I am fortunate enough to participate in its cooperative education program. While I spent last semester waking up for 8 AM finance classes, living off of coffee and studying for midterms through the night, I’ve been spending this semester working from nine to five, attending conferences and Skyping with international loan officers at Root Capital.

What is one book or film that significantly influenced your path and why?

Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains, a biography of Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH). PIH strives to provide the poor with first-rate medical care by establishing long-term partnerships with local organizations in countries such as Haiti, Rwanda, Peru PIH’s proactive, rather than reactive, approach to healthcare has greatly influenced my path to social change.


What is the wildest food you ever ate while travelling?

I’m going to be honest and say the riskiest thing I’ve ever eaten was a chocolate lollipop made by a sixth grader from Roxbury, Massachusetts, in order to support his microbusiness. You never know where their hands have been!

What’s a song that would be on the soundtrack of your life?

“A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke.

If you could create a tweet that describes your personal goals and career path, what would it be?

@grameenamerica "The only place where poverty should be is in museums."- Muhammad Yunus #socent #microfinance

Last Thursday (May 19, 2011) we had our first Spring Social event at the Trespa Design Centre hosted by Grameen America’s Young Professional (YP) committee. The event was organized to raise awareness about the great work that Grameen America is doing and also to fundraise for Grameen America borrowers. It was no doubt also a great networking event for young professionals who share a common mission of helping create a better world. Trespa Design Centre generously donated their space in Soho for the event and the cutting edge architecture and design was a big hit with our guests. We also had hors d’oeuvres and drinks supplied by Whole Foods and pizza from Harry’s Italian. Although this wasn’t the first YP event (each YP member takes turns organizing small events throughout the year such as the Bring Your Own Cause event at Delancey Lounge and presentations at Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and YPFP), this was the first collaborative effort on the part of the whole committee. It was by far our biggest and most successful Young Professional event to date, as over 100 people came to support Grameen America and our mission of empowering impoverished entrepreneurs through microfinance.


The evening began with an address from Event Chairs Narmeen Azad of Goldman Sachs and Anita Hossain from Deutsche Bank followed by Grameen America’s Katherine Rosenberg, VP of Strategic Partnerships and Seema Gohil, VP of Finance who spoke about the success of our current programs. There was also a silent auction with many great items such as Mets tickets, US Open tickets, a football signed by the NY Jets, Nike items and football, Equinox Monthly passes and a class at Murray’s Cheese. There were also interesting raffle items like America Museum of Natural History Passes, Living Social Coupon, and Jewelry from Prismera. While the event was set for 6-9pm, many people stayed after to continue chatting and listening to the great music provided by DJ Max Wave.


We would like to acknowledge the key organizers from the YP Committee who helped make this event such a success: Narmeen Azad from Goldman Sachs, Anita Hossain from Deutsche Bank, Nahiyan Chowdhury from JP Morgan Chase, Tanzeer Khan from Corporate Partners LLC, Adeep Huq from Credit Suisse, Emaan Mahmood from Credit Suisse and Jane Kim from Morgan Stanley. A special thank you also goes to Ariq Azad for putting together our event website. Thanks to all for making the event such a success!


For more information or to join the Grameen America’s Young Professional Committee, please contact Mugdha Gangopadhyay (Director, Strategy & Development). Also, stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter pages for more Young Professional Committee events in the near future!