The strong engagement from conference attendees with Ahad\u2019s research came as an unexpected highlight, he said, leaving a lasting impression on his overall conference experience. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople stopped, asked questions and wanted to discuss my findings,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat stood out most was their curiosity about where I would take the research next.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ahad credits Subhadra Ganguli<\/a>, assistant professor of business at Penn State Lehigh Valley, as a key influence throughout his research process.<\/p>\n \u201cShe pushed me to think more carefully about my methodology and encouraged me to stray from shortcuts when it came to econometrics,\u201d he said. \u201cI came into this project with a general idea, and her guidance helped me turn it into something I could defend at a national conference.\u201d <\/p>\n The critical thinking required throughout the research process further solidified Ahad\u2019s interest in pursuing a career in private equity (PE), he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThis research reinforced me how much I enjoy the analytical side of finance, and that kind of thinking is exactly what PE requires,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n For students interested in undergraduate research, Ahad emphasized the importance of knowing professors, pursuing ideas and connecting research to real-world applications. <\/p>\n \u201cYour professors know about opportunities you\u2019d never find on your own,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t wait until you have the perfect idea \u2014 just start, and the topic will become clearer when you\u2019re in it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahad also noted that motivation and engagement live within topics that are relevant to the real world. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen your work answers a question that matters outside the classroom, it\u2019s a lot more interesting for everyone who hears about it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n About Penn State Lehigh Valley<\/p>\n Penn State Lehigh Valley was established in 1912 and combines over a century of academic excellence with personalized instruction and industry-connected faculty. Students can choose from 11 baccalaureate degrees or begin any of Penn State\u2019s 275+ majors through the 2+2 program. With small class sizes and advanced learning technology, our modern campus prepares students for success in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. For more information, visit the Lehigh Valley website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The strong engagement from conference attendees with Ahad\u2019s research came as an unexpected highlight, he said, leaving a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-180466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}