With a dual degree in business and international studies, G.S. Suri ultimately looks forward to a successful career in venture capital. But his first job after graduation will be a two-year stint serving in the Peace Corps in Morocco.
“I looked at the Peace Corps website and they had opportunities in every space. It wasn’t just building houses. It was microfinance and it was community development, and it was partnering in strategic work with the World Bank in terms of financing small businesses that have potential to become large-scale enterprises,” he says. “It involved community development work, running community centers. On top of that, we’re taught by some of the best language teachers in the world.”
A native of the Grand Rapids area, Suri credits the University of Michigan with providing him with a well-rounded experience no other school can give you.
“As a turban-wearing Sikh American, Michigan is the only university I can think of that has an outward stance as well as a historical track record of being one of the most inclusive universities over the past 100 years. So the choice to come to Michigan was pretty easy for me.”
Suri studied in Peru, Costa Rica and Argentina. Two summer internships provided further unique experiences: at an investment bank in London, and then as an analyst for Citigroup on Wall Street, involved in the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s economy.
On campus, Suri has been active in lots of co-curricular activities, including the Maize & Blue Endowment Fund, Global Investment Club, TAMID Israel Investment Group, and the Ross Leaders Academy, through which he’s helping with an urban gardening project in the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit.
After his time with the Peace Corps, Suri plans to go into venture capital and growth equity, investing in small to mid-size businesses.
