A home away from home

Connecting with others has always been a part of Mo’s life. Every stage of her story, she has proven to be a powerful community builder and connection maker.

Moyinoluwa (Mo) Abiola is currently an associate at at Goldman Sachs, an investment banking company. She works on the regulation team ensuring rules are being abided by.

When it comes to her work, Mo adores her team. With diversity of both background and mind, she loves the opportunity for collaboration to come to the table.

“It’s a good blend, that’s something I want because you learn so much from different people,” says Mo.

She credits the culture of her workspace to those around her. She even connects this time with the community she experienced at MSUM as an undergrad.

"It reminds me of Moorhead,” she says. “Just connecting with the people around me and having fun. Getting along, growing together, collaborating, I like it.”

Mo earned her major in business economics along with a minor in international business in 2017. She notes how her time on campus made her come out of her shell and made her present herself with confidence.

Mo is from Lagos, Nigeria. During high school, friends from her class were preparing to attend colleges in the area, while others knew they wanted to study overseas. Mo took a gap year to figure her plan out and applied to schools across the United States and Canada.

Her mother always emphasized exploring and being around people of different cultures and mindsets.

“She always wanted me to have different mindsets around, and to learn from others." Mo says. "Her desire was for me to go out there and learn what I can from other people. That’s how I can learn the best and be the best that I can be.”

When it came to applying to universities, Mo looked to others to guide her in the process. Two of her high school classmates previously went through the international student application process at MSUM.

Mo saw the process and wanted to attend college overseas, so MSUM was the right choice for her.

When Mo came to Moorhead, she blossomed. She joined activities, took on leadership roles and thrived academically.

One of her favorite parts of campus was dorm life. She lived in Snarr Hall during her undergrad and served as a resident assistant and later as a desk manager. She got to know everyone on campus from students to staff.

Mo also remained active throughout her time on campus. She worked as a dragon ambassador >giving tours and loved participating in the African Student Union. They had nights of cooking, dancing, and wearing attire she brought from home.

We organized an event night with fun music, food and dancing,” says Mo. “I would go home every summer and grab as many clothes as I could to bring back for it.”

Mo also loved being in the international student office. There was genuine camaraderie among everyone who visited.

"I could walk into the international student office, and everybody knew the students by name,” she says. “You never felt alone. There was this personable experience that you had in the international student area.”

Apart from her social life, Mo flourished academically. As an upperclassman, she was a scholar’s apprentice in the Paseka School of Business. She worked on aspects of marketing, analyzing data and volunteered in the community.

She even got to present a project on a national level. In a class with Professor Oscar Flores, she researched what factors affected the choice of business school a person decides to go to after their undergrad. She later brought the project to Washington D.C. to present at a conference.

“That got me out of my shell professionally,” she says. “I was nervous because I had to present to people from around the nation. I became better in Economics from that experience, and it showed me a potential career path.”

Through Mo's project, she chose Brandeis International Business School in Massachusetts as a prime school for her Masters of Science in Finance in 2019.

Mo has continued to do incredible things since graduating, like working for nonprofits, traveling around the country and being a valuable member to any team she’s on.

Today, Mo's positivity in her work and openness to great opportunities has equipped her for any possibilities she encounters in the future.