Meet Safayet.

Safayet, a junior and Dean’s List student at Baruch College, City University of New York, is earning a bachelor’s of business administration from the Zicklin School of Business and hopes to graduate Summa Cum Laude in May 2015. An accounting major, he’s participated in five school groups: Rising Star Program (career development); planning committee of the Accounting Society; vice chair of the volunteer committee of Sigma Alpha Delta Honor Society; overseeing the program development board of Phi-Eta Sigma Honor Society; and treasurer of the Honors Program.

He was referred to the National Business and Disability Council at The Viscardi Center’s Emerging Leaders Summer Internship Program for College Students with Disabilities by his Baruch LEADS counselor (Linking Employment Academics and Disabilities Services), a program helping CUNY students with disabilities make  good academic and career choices. Involvement with NBDC helped him secure an internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a ‘Big Four’ accounting firm in Manhattan.

Speaking about the Emerging Leaders program, Safayet said: “Emerging Leaders is a wonderful program that helps students like myself be placed to work at the company of their dreams. I want to thank the program for giving me the chance to experience the lifestyle of being a professional in the working world.”

His internship at Pricewaterhouse, the summer of 2013, included updating client’ tax returns and providing administrative support in the state and local tax department. He also participated in training programs, networked with professionals, gained advanced knowledge of taxation, and improved his technical skills in an environment he described as “open and accepting of people with disabilities.”

Safayet has Asperger Syndrome, a condition that can make social interaction and nonverbal communication more difficult. To that end, he’s involved with the Asperger Syndrome Training and Employment Partnership (ASTEP) in Manhattan, an agency creating programs promoting long-term employment for people with the condition.

Safayet aspires to become partner at a ‘Big Four’ accounting firm – a position often requiring credentials as a CPA (certified public accountant). In his spare time, he enjoys sailing: Safayet is a member of the Manhattan Sailing School where he and other New Yorkers share their passion for the sport of sailing.