2006 The Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Nafis Atiqullah is in his fourth year at UCLA, where he is a Regents Scholar and Robert Byrd Scholar. He is majoring in Business Economics and minoring in Accounting. In preparation for a career in finance, Nafis has held numerous internships, including Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group, and Investment Banking Division while maintaning a full course load and a 4.0 GPA in the Minor in Accounting. Nafis was a Summer Analyst in the Private Wealth Management group at Goldman Sachs in Los Angeles in summer 2005. and for the Technology, Media & Telecom investment banking group of Goldman Sachs in New York this past summer.

Future Plans: On campus, Nafis has served as a research assistant for Professors Lustig and Reber, and was 2005-2006 Grant Director for the Community Service Commission. Nafis plans to undertake an Honors thesis in Economics during his senior year, as well as to explore teaching a student-initiated seminar under the USIE program. Post-graduation, Nafis plans to pursue a career in finance and would like to eventually attend business school. He is especially interested in the intersection between the public and private capital markets, as well as the potential for microfinance to give low-income citizens in developing countries greater access to capital and entrepreneurship opportunities.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am extremely honored to be the 2006-2007 recipient of the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship. The Scholarship will afford me the financial flexibility to fully concentrate on researching my Honors thesis as well as to prepare a student-initiated seminar. The Scholarship’s emphasis on accounting is especially fitting as I have found UCLA’s academic training in accounting, in addition to the foundation in economics, to be absolutely indispensable throughout my work experience. I am sure that I will utilize the skills taught by the undergraduate accounting program – understanding companies’ operations, capital structures, and overall “story” – throughout my career.