Kamran grew up in an immigrant family who built a business from the ground up.

When he came to Missouri State as a first-generation student, his goal was to graduate debt-free.

Because of people like you who support MSU, he will.

Learning a love for business, seeing a struggle

Choudhry was born in New York. His parents had emigrated from Pakistan in 1997.

After they moved to the Kansas City area in 2002, his dad owned a few gas stations.

“We’d usually visit him while he was working and see that he was dealing with a lot of management and a lot of money,” Choudhry said. “As a young boy I wanted to help my father, so I’ve always wanted to do something business-related.”

The recession hit in 2008, and his family lost all but one of their businesses.

Choudhry saw his father work hard and drive many miles to regrow his holdings.

“Seeing the dedication toward getting those businesses, and making sure he had money to provide for us, really pushed me forward.”

In 2013, Choudhry’s father passed away. He left the family businesses to Choudhry’s mother. It took the family six years of struggles to get back on their feet.

“It was a hard time financially.”

MSU scholarship leaves resources for siblings

Choudhry, the eldest of six children, is careful with money.

“My mentality has always been that if I draw from a limited pool, there’s less for my other siblings to draw from,” he said. “If you can remove one from the pool and split five ways, there is more for everybody. That drives me every day.”

This drive, along with the goal of graduating debt-free, has pushed Choudhry throughout his education at Missouri State.

He holds the Bernice Gabriel Memorial Scholarship, as well as another business scholarship. These lower his stress about finances.

“They allow me to focus less time and energy on how to pay for school.”

Choudhry has used that time and energy to get involved on campus. He is a resident assistant, and has served with the Association of International Students and Student Activities Council.

He credits the generosity of supporters for these experiences.

“If you’ve given to student scholarships, you’ve given a recipient time. This time lets them further their studies, get more involved on campus and essentially have a more fruitful life.”