Born: May 16 1983
Location: New Westminster, BC. Royal Columbian Hospital
Mother: Donna Ameerali
Father: Ian Ameerali
Given Names: Mark David
Being born in New Westminster and growing up primarly in the Fraser Valley, life was fairly typically suburban. I went to elementary school in a private Catholic school in Whalley (OLGC). While there my favorite class was gym and my favorite thing to do was play sports in the field, especially football and soccer. I was never really the centre of attention off of the sports field (although sometimes I wished I was). I tended to have fewer very close friends instead of many aquintances. I had a relatively normal elementary school experience, nothing drastically traumatizing happened to me, I guess I was just an average kid who made it through my formative years relatively unscathed.
In high school things became more intresting, although my intrests had essentially not changed I definately found myself in a larger crowd, and found it more difficult to excel in academics and athletics. However, I managed more than my fair share of gold medals, honor rolls, honourable mentions, all-star teams, and captainships. I would say that throughout high school I faced many challenges, in and outside the classroom. If I had better role models in the classroom and on the field I believe I would have followed as straighter path. Unfortunately, the lack of direction had me in trouble by 11th grade and I started dropping out of sports teams, and hanging out with the wrong crowd. By 12th grade my grades had slipped, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I had the brains for post secondary education, post secondary was all but a fore-gone conclusion, however I didn't know where to go or what to study. Ironically (or maybe not) I chose to go to Corpus Christi College at UBC. Almost immediately after graduating from high school, I went to boot camp, as I had joined the Canadian Army Reserve.
Entering post-secondary was a great opportunity. I saw the chance for a clean slate. No longer was I preceeded by my reputation. My sence of discipline was revitalized and I had the opportunity to build something from scratch. I made a conscious decision to rebuild myself into the person I wanted to be, as I was definately not that person at the time. I knew I had a long journey ahead of me but I concentrated on completing it one day at a time.
With-in one week of entering CCC I realized that I was in the wrong school taking the wrong courses. I knew that what I wanted to study was as I put it then "how to make money for nothing" better known as finance/investing. I realized to get where I wanted to go I had to complete certain pre-requisites which would take 2 years instead of 1 because of the school I chose. I would also have to master calculus, and seeing as I had failed Math in 12th grade that would be a tall order.
I accepted the fact that I would have to take longer to study business and even longer for finance so what I did in the first 2 years was build a foundation of knowledge to support the coming concentration in the study of finance. I studied Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Sociology, Mathematics, Economics, English, History, Geography, and Communications in my first 2 years in order to be a more well rounded individual instead of a cold hard number cruncher. During the 2 year waiting period, I decided to get a head start on my financial education and began to read books such as those written by Robert Kiyosaki and other investing and personal finance books. I knew that the key to getting ahead was starting early and at 18 I figured I had a pretty decent start. I also completed my Canadian Securities Course, for personal edification and in preparation for my finance studies. There were many times I doubted I would even have a competitive enough GPA to earn the privaledge of being accepted to the Commerce program let alone the finance specialization but as luck would have it, hard work paid off and the kid who had lost his direction was bearing down on his goals.
Business school was both extremely challenging and extremely fulfilling. Never have I been in a place where I was in such a constant state of awe of my peers. The people I met and the things I witnessed them do with their lives made me strive to achieve all I could as well. Entering the Sauder school of business was like coming home. I had finally earned the right to study what I was passionate about, and it showed in attitude and in grades. Entering finance was a bit intimidating, however, I finally knew I belonged and that I had earned that acceptance. Most of all I was excited to finally be able to learn what I had set out to learn 3 years prior.
Today, I am 22 years old. Finishing my finance degree, In good health, and almost everything I set out to be 4 years ago. I am working on learning how to play the guitar (one goal that sat on the shelf for many years) I am being forced to learn how to cook. I have learned to love, I have learned what it is to suffer, I have learned to live with pain and smile, I have learned to forgive and I have learned how to say I am sorry, I feel I have studied hard both in and outside the classroom. I am very satisfied with the path I have come down I got exactly what I set out to aquire. I still have lots to learn but I feel the classroom is quickly becoming less and less ideal for my needs. I am ready to venture out into the world and make my mark. It's intresting to note that the more I realize that I have changed, the more I recognize that I am the same kid I was at age 12 my outlook, my morals, and my attitude remain young at heart and unspoiled. When I was 12 the opportunities were endless; I guess it took a decade or so to come to the realization that they still are.
- Mark David Ameerali
July 14 2005