Mustfa Manzur (LS ’08, CAS ’11) Alumni Mentor and Sarah Marbach (CAS ’21) Student Mentee on the CAS Mentorship Program

Mustfa Manzur (LS ’08, CAS ’11)

"Serving as a mentor to students is something I enjoy doing because I know firsthand how important a role mentorship can be in the process of finding and realizing your professional passions." - Mustfa Manzur (LS ’08, CAS ’11)

Why do you serve as an alumni mentor?

When I was at NYU, we didn’t have a formal alumni mentorship program for current students at the time. As luck would have it, just as I was beginning to think about life beyond Washington Square Park, I met a really involved alumnus at a CAS event – Jerry Goldman, Esq. (ARTS ’73). During every conversation since then, Jerry has always made it a priority to discuss my interests and career aspirations. He has a true knack for always asking the right questions and offering the perspective I need to hear. Serving as a mentor to students is something I enjoy doing because I know firsthand how important a role mentorship can be in the process of finding and realizing your professional passions.

Can you tell us about your experience acting as a mentor this semester?

Mentoring Sarah this semester has been great. She approached our conversations with a lot of thoughtful questions, an open mind, and carefully reflected over each of my suggestions. Sarah’s effort to systematically determine what she needs to do in order to make the most of her time at NYU has been admirable and very impressive.

Mustfa Manzur: his story continues

Sabena Gupta (CAS ’13), Director of Brand Strategy and Marketing at The New York Times, Shares How She Found Her Passion

When Sabena Gupta was a student at NYU, she decided to switch her major from dentistry to English literature. She wanted to explore a major that tapped into her creative side. Here she shares with us how that choice led her to her current role at The New York Times, a job both rewarding and fun.

What did you study at NYU?

I came to NYU as part of a seven-year dental program. But half way through my sophomore year, I felt like this wasn’t right. It’s not that I didn’t care to do it; it’s just that I didn’t have the drive to do that for seven years, which led me to think it wasn’t the career for me. That is when I pivoted to English literature. I wanted to study something I was passionate about and I tried to have the confidence that I would figure it out from there.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at NYU?

I did a Virginia Woolf symposium where we literally read every Virginia Woolf book. The class was a relatively small size, so we discussed it and wrote about it. I loved that. I love Virginia Woolf. I am a huge fan. I actually wrote a book while I was in school, Sunsets in Paradise, and published it a few years after. It is a 1920s kind of tragic romance based on Hemingway and Fitzgerald and that kind of writing. I wrote it and I self-published it. It was a really fun side project for me.

Sabena Gupta: her story continues