Marketing major Ali Zakka sets some big goals for himself, but number one is to surround himself with positivity so he can spread it out to others. The Kansas City native wants the footprint he’s left on campus to be filled with good vibes, which he’s done through the organizations he’s been a part of. As he heads out into the world, though, he is interested in continuing to inspire others through an athletic clothing business, starting with t-shirts and hats printed with positive and motivational messages.
Ali started making waves at Missouri State right from the start. His freshman year, he helped bring Pi Kappa Alpha back to campus, making it an official fraternity by 2012. Also in his first two years, he worked with Relay for Life as a team captain. He worked hard to motivate Pi Kappa Alpha to participate, and, within the two years as team captain, raised $9,000 for Relay. Because he loved being a team captain for his fraternity so much and was so successful, he decided he wanted to be on the overall Relay for Life committee to be able to do more with the organization and enact positive change on campus. On the committee, he worked on Team Development, Event Planning and Promotions, where he helped with Relay’s Instagram.
Throughout college, Ali remembers a lot of times when he overloaded himself with work or nothing seemed to go right. There was a year his car broke down five times, a semester where he was working two jobs and trying to take seventeen credit hours, and many times when his grades were bad. However, he wasn’t ready to give up quite yet. He told himself, “You know what? It’s all going to get better. It’s all going to work out.” Around that same time, he began following motivational Instagram accounts and began creating similar inspirational posts for his own Instagram. “Once you surround yourself in positivity, it becomes second nature. [I told myself] it’s not going to be like this forever. I can change it; it’s up to me.”
Not long after that, he made himself a hat that said “Achieve Greatness,” and he knew that wearable inspiration was something he wanted to give to other people. This was also partly inspired by a childhood pastime. Throughout middle school, Ali wrote comics that featured the superheroes he loved watching on television. He drew and wrote stories for superheroes that inspired him. He thought, “If they can do it, I can do it. What’s stopping me from doing it?” But instead of taking on a life of crime stopping, Ali took that mental attitude and decided to turn it into a business.
Right now, Ali is trying to finish his degree and find a job in marketing to support himself and his fledgling business. He has come up with some prototype shirts and can’t wait to make more. But marketing will never be a side job for Ali. Again in high school, he was able to take a business class that involved a marketing project, and he fell in love with the field. Knowing that class had only touched the surface of the world of marketing, he came to Missouri State ready for more. Dr. Parker’s Intro to Marketing was one of the more influential classes and let Ali know he was in the right place, though he has thoroughly enjoyed all his marketing professors.
Ali’s biggest piece of advice, when asked how he stays so positive all the time, is to have a positive mindset. “If you constantly stay positive, the outcome of your life can be changed by you. A positive mindset is what leads to success.” With graduation quickly approaching this May, he hopes to soon be able to spread that positivity through his own business and clothing line.