Colin Powell School
Dream Big, Test the Road, Build Relationships, and Adapt: Anika Islam on Her Path to Morgan Stanley and Columbia Business School
Like many immigrant children, Anika Islam learned to grow up fast. Originally from Bangladesh, Islam was a teenager when her family decided to return to their homeland and she found herself living in New York City on her own. She became an honor student, attending Stuyvesant High School and then the City College Honors Program, all while waiting tables to pay the rent. A curious student of political economy, Islam developed a keen interest in financial regulation and landed an analyst job at Morgan Stanley upon graduation. In this interview, she tells her inspiring story and urges students never to underestimate themselves and to push their own boundaries as they reach for their goals.
Please tell me about your background. What is your story?
I was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh and came to New York City when I was 6 years old, and I have been in New York City ever since. In fact, I have lived in every borough except Staten Island!
Like many immigrant families, my family struggled to make ends meet. There were so many problems – marital, financial, legal, you name it. My parents were never able to get their footing in this country. When I was 15 years old, my parents separated and, one after the other, returned to Bangladesh. I have been on my own ever since.
What brought you to City College?
I have always valued education. School was my safe haven in an otherwise chaotic and uncertain world. Just to illustrate how much I loved school, I graduated as valedictorian in elementary school, salutatorian in middle school, and was the only person from my middle school to get into Stuyvesant High School, which is a specialized high school in New York City. Despite this, college was never guaranteed.
As a senior in high school, I was going to school during the day and waitressing in the evenings and weekends to pay for the $420/month room I rented in Jamaica, Queens. I budgeted $20-$30 a week for food. I was barely making ends meet. For college to be feasible, I needed a full-tuition scholarship and the flexibility to work part-time. The City College Honors Program came through for me on both fronts.
What is your passion or purpose behind your studies at City College?
I did not arrive on campus with a specific career goal. The first few semesters, I let myself take classes that seemed interesting and naturally found myself drawn to the political science and economics departments. Through studying political parties and interest groups, analyzing public policy, and learning about the markets, the bigger picture slowly started making sense to me. I went on to major in political science and double minor in economics and public policy.
How has your career unfolded, and how have City College and the Colin Powell School helped you advance your career?
Around the end of sophomore year, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, so I applied to and was accepted into the Skadden Arps Honors Program in Legal Studies. Through the program, I was exposed to the world of financial regulation and went on to focus on the Volcker Rule within Dodd-Frank in my coursework. When I realized banks and financial regulators held summer internships for undergraduates, I decided to throw my hat into the ring.
In 2015, I joined Morgan Stanley as a Summer Analyst and have been with the firm ever since. Today, I work in the Regulatory Relations Group and, in my role, I manage a variety of regulatory examinations, including those from the SEC, FINRA, CFTC, CME, and state examiners. This has given me broad exposure to businesses and products within the financial services industry and helped me realize that I want to continue to build a career in this field. Therefore, I decided to go to business school and will be starting the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School this fall.
I did not know it at the time, but City College was exactly where I needed to be. I was surrounded by people like me – immigrants, people of color, strivers, and dreamers aspiring for a better life. I do not think I would have been as successful without this community. I want to give a special shout out to my Skadden Arps cohort—thanks for getting me through many all-nighters and for continuing to cheer me on to this day.
Would you like to share any special memories or accomplishments from your time at City College or your career?
Do not underestimate the seat you’re in. I have always found ways to work on things I care about. I am deeply passionate about diversity and inclusion, so I got myself involved in Morgan Stanley’s diversity and inclusion recruiting and programming. I want to be engaged on topics like climate change and sustainability, so I raised my hand for regulatory work related to climate change risk and ESG investing. With some creativity, your job description can take you further than you think!
Do you have any advice for current or future students?
First, I want to acknowledge that the world is an unfair playing field. Many of us in the City College community have had to overcome great odds just to be in college and have financial or familial responsibilities alongside being a student. That being said, you owe it to yourself to dream big and take advantage of these years.
You do not have to have it all figured out. When I was college, I was terrified of choosing the wrong path or career. I spent so much time ruminating about my ideal job and thinking about things in the hypothetical. Instead, take your interests for a test drive. Take a class, join a club, or get an internship. As long as you’re regularly exposing yourself to new things and stretching yourself, you are moving forward.
Find your tribe. Time and time again, studies have shown that strong relationships are key to health and happiness. Invest in relationships and take advantage of the diversity at City College. Success does not feel like success if you do not have people to share it with.
Champions adjust. We’re often told to persevere against all odds. Perseverance has its merits, but there is also great power in adjusting your strategy, mindset, goals, etc. as your circumstances change.
Last but not least, start putting money away in a tax advantaged retirement account as soon as possible. The difference between starting in your 20s and starting in your 30s is huge. Google “compound interest” for more information.