Q&A with Salima Lalani

Salima Lalani came to campus with 50 of her high school classmates, and while being with friends was nice, she knew needed to meet new people.

MAJOR: International business and finance
HOMETOWN: Buffalo Grove, Ill.
DORM: Ashton

Q: How did you decide what to get involved in?

A: I wanted to take it easy my first year to get used to the school. I know it’s really competitive here, and I didn’t want to sacrifice my grades. But, I was in an accounting class and one of the girls came in and made an announcement about Women In Business, and it was something that interested me and was in line with what I wanted to do. They have business fraternities as well, but this was more unique.

Q: When you first came here was it hard to adjust?

A: I came here with 50 fellow graduating seniors, but my goal was to make new friends and branch out, I didn’t want this to be high school all over again. It wasn’t hard adjusting. I came in with a couple of friends, but just living in Ashton and being a part of Welcome Week really helped. Being in the business school, I take classes with a lot of the same people, so I saw some familiar faces.

Q: Do you have any advice for freshmen about surviving their first year?

A: Get involved and explore, see what you like. With the business school there are a lot of extracurriculars, but if you don’t know what you want to do just join some clubs. That’s how you make friends and what makes the transitions easier. Just get out there and be yourself. Don’t be afraid to show people who you really are.

Q: What was the most frustrating part about freshman year?

A: I came here with a lot of goals and expectations for myself, and there were some hurdles I was hoping to surmount this year. I’ve gotten rejected for many things through the B-School ... I’m learning to cope with reality, coming from high school and having everything handed to me and accomplishing all these goals. That rejection is kind of hard to deal with, but don’t give up. I just re-evaluate myself every couple of weeks and just try harder.