When Sunil Pathak (MBA’18) was working in Delhi as a team manager after finishing his undergraduate degree in India, his dream of doing an MBA overseas kept nagging at him. He’d been to Canada as a tourist and loved the country and its people, so when a friend introduced him to Dr. Devashish Mitra, the Dean of the Faculty of Management at UNB, Sunil was excited to learn more about the program.
“I met Dr. Mitra in India and he spoke highly of the campus and the MBA program and faculty. I loved what I heard and ended up applying.”
Sunil landed in Fredericton in September of 2016 and immediately loved the city and UNB. “It was overwhelming at first to come back and study again full-time after being out of school for over 10 years. But my classmates were amazing and I had very good instructors to guide me. It soon became much easier.”
Sunil excelled in the program, winning the E.D. Maher Graduate Student Prize and the MBA Society Award for the highest CGPA of full-time graduates. He also got very involved with student life, becoming a teaching assistant as well as vice president and treasurer of the MBA Society. He participated in the Open Data Visualization challenge and won in 2017.
So when he returned to UNB – this time to work in the Faculty of Management – it was not a big surprise. “My wife and I had been living in Windsor, Ontario for a year after I graduated. But I craved the quality of life that Fredericton offered. A job opened up as a program officer for the MQIM degree, and I jumped at it. My wife was also hired by UNB for administration with the Faculty of Nursing.”
"I try to draw on my own experience as an international graduate student to advise current students and help them find work."
In his work, Sunil handles the development and day-day operations of the MQIM program and oversees internships for students. He helps students adjust to the program – and often to a new culture in Canada. “The MBA and Master in Quantitative Investment Management programs are in great demand from both domestic and international students. The MQIM program – now welcoming its 5th cohort this Fall – is rigorous and growing, and many students come to Canada specifically for this unique experience. I try to draw on my own experience as an international graduate student to advise them and help them find work.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunil stepped up to volunteer as a student health and wellbeing coordinator to support students in self-isolation. He’s now also an instructor in the professional development course that all MQIM students are required to complete in the Faculty of Management. “I never thought I would like teaching but actually I love it. I love working with students and faculty members.”
As a member of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce through UNB, Sunil volunteers on the 'Event and Networking' committee and the 'Immigration Advisory' committee. “My wife and I love this city and want to make a life here and be part of the community. It’s a great place to raise a family. And UNB has become our family as well. It’s an honour to be working at a place where I learned so much.”
In celebration of Red + Black Day, this is just one of our #ProudlyUNB alumni who have chosen to stay or come back to work at UNB.
