Ali Mirza

Student

“People have no idea where Pakistan is, so I just tell them, ‘It’s near India,’ and they say, Oh, right.”

Seven years ago, Ali Mirza’s family moved to LA from Karachi—a city with more than 9 million residents—in Pakistan, one of the most populated nations on earth. “It’s a little frustrating how little people know about Pakistan, because its a great country,” he says. “But I’ve gotten used to it, and I just show people where it is on the map.” For Ali, SMC is another place that is definitely ‘on the map.’

“I’ve been planning on going to this college all along because I have so many friends who kept telling me about it. It’s so much better than any other college in the area, and I like the energy of all the people who come here.” One very energized person that Ali greatly admires is his Math 2 teacher. “Mr. Murray is a very cool teacher—he really cuts through the tension and stress," says Ali. “He’s got a great sense of humor, and he somehow makes studying math fun.” ‘Math’ and ‘fun’ don’t have to be mutually exclusive, and Ali plans on including both in his future career.

“I want to do something radical in software or programming, probably involving graphics,” he says. “There is a very big need for people with these kinds of skills in the movie industry, and I think I could get the chance to be creative in that field. I’m only in my second semester now," adds Ali. “But a lot of people have been telling me about the Academy of Entertainment and Technology and all the computers and other technology they have there. I’m pretty impatient to get into the industry,” he says. “But getting my degree has to come first.”

Back