Interests and Activities
Apart from my time spent studying or working I enjoy a variety playing football, cooking, reading and investing are some of the interests and activities that I have. For professional organizations, I participate in the general SPO Phi Bheta Lambda and the Association of Information Systems.
My favorite sport to both play and watch is easily football, or as it’s known in the U.S., soccer. During the school year I play on an intramural soccer team through Temple. I enjoy the competitive nature of soccer and the amount of physical exercise from both practice and competition. When watching soccer, I enjoy watching the European leagues of England, Italy and Spain. My team of choose is AC Milan from Milan, Italy but I also like to watch the occasional MLS games of DC United or the Philadelphia Union. Other than soccer, I watch traditional American Football with my teams being the Redskins and the Ravens as my hometown is Bethesda, Maryland just outside of Washington, DC.
One of the skills I have really picked up and developed since coming to college is cooking. My preferred meal to cook is always breakfast but I also enjoy making dinners with various combinations of chicken, steak, and whichever side best complements the main dish. My preferred meals really have no limits as I have been exposed to many different cultures with many different styles of preparing food. I love to search for and try new recipes. It is a skill that I am happy to continue improving and can utilize for the rest of my life.
Reading has always been a big hobby of mine, both the daily news and literature. Some of my favorite publications include: the New York Times, Reuters, Business Insider, the Wall Street Journal, and Esquire. I believe it is important to understand what is going on around in the world and with that knowledge, you will be prepared to handle most situations that head your way. A few books that I have recently finished reading include: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I try to read at least one book a month in addition to my regular school assignments.
As an add-on to reading, I spend a fair amount of my time researching investment opportunities. I prefer to invest in small to medium sized companies in high growth industries. At the moment I am focused on the technology sector, on both the software and hardware side. The most interesting investing book that I had read has been the Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. While I do not follow his strategy of value investing, the ideas he teaches are incredibly valuable. The last line of the book has especially stuck with me. “To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realize; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks.” Whenever possible, I continue to strive for superior results throughout the various aspects of my life.
For professional organizations, I attend meetings for Phi Beta Lambda. The benefits of this group are the regular seminars from business leaders in the Philadelphia area and the networking opportunities this allows. This year I have also joined the Association for Information Systems, for MIS students which has professional development, social, and community activities for participants.