#and I was only allowed to get Instagram in grade 9 on the premise it would be for art

[awkward-potato-504]

I love being late to the party

[lubinschoolofbusiness]

#LubinLife Q&A: Zeina Taqi ‘21

Zeina Taqi ’21 from  Kuwait is a finance major on the NYC Campus. She’s taking her love of baking and cooking up some sweet treats through her small business venture, Bakeology. With an entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to teach others, Zeina’s business has really taken off!  

What made you decide to attend Pace University/Lubin School of Business?   Ever since freshman year of high school, I always knew I wanted to study in New York City. In my senior year, a couple of friends and I were looking at all the potential schools in Manhattan that offered my desired major, finance. Pace University caught my eye because of its location and how close it is to the financial district. Another reason why I chose Pace is because of its huge interest in internships and making sure each student gets one by the time they graduate. I feel like internships are extremely important and some universities fail to see that because if I end up changing my major, I would have at least tested the waters and hopefully gotten a few internships that would really determine what I like. I also really like how small Pace is and the diverse community it has, it reminds me of my high school and the fact that there are many international students here made my decision and move that much easier and worthwhile. 

Tell us about your Bakeology business. When did you first become interested in starting your own business?  Before choosing finance as my major, I always thought I would major in entrepreneurship because my sister Aya and I have always been fans of baking. In 9th grade, I remember having a conversation with her about opening our own bakery someday if our “traditional” career paths don’t work out for us. So I sort of always had that in the back of my mind. And then I got accepted to Pace for Fall 2016 but I had to defer my acceptance for personal reasons. My sister Aya, my friend Hala and I were thinking of ways to make use of our time and do something productive so we decided to create Bakeology. The premise of our business was to teach local kids the fundamentals of baking, which is how the name came about. After getting requests for orders via our Instagram account we also started selling our sweets and offering a delivery service, as well. 

Where do you see yourself after graduation? Is there a specific career path that you aspire to?  After completing my bachelor's degree, I hope that I can continue my studies and graduate with a master’s degree in finance. After doing some research last semester about the different jobs within finance, being a financial analyst or manager is most appealing to me. Not only do I love analyzing numbers and giving advice but I also love how challenging both of these jobs are. If the traditional route does not work out, hopefully I’ll own a bakery and the knowledge I will obtain from Pace will be key to running my bakery especially because the financial aspect of any business is extremely complex, it’s not something you understand overnight.   

Any advice for other Lubin students who are interested in starting their own business?  Just do it! Honestly, it is as simple as that. Life is too short to dwell on the past and think about what-ifs. If you have something you are passionate about, take that passion and turn it into something great and tangible – something much more than a passion. Of course, it will be hard, there will be people who will doubt you, but it’s up to you to ignore the noise in the background, hold your head up high and persevere.  

Describe your experience at Lubin so far:  The professors are very knowledgeable not only in the subject they teach but also about any queries students have. And as I mentioned before the diverse community helped me meet a lot of interesting people from all around the world with different goals. Also being in Lubin allowed me to attend various events ranging from panels consisting of Lubin’s alumni to getting to go to Tiffany’s headquarters and attending a talk held by their CFO.