
You have it in you.
You have what it takes.
Ayman Elhassan ’26 is a third-year University of Minnesota Twin Cities (Minneapolis) student majoring in Management Information Systems through the Carlson School of Management.
At the University of Minnesota, he soon realized he needed to find a community in order to stay grounded, which he would do through the U’s chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), where he currently serves as vice president.
Here, Elhassan talks about his background, coming to the University of Minnesota, finding his community, and his plans for the future.
Both my parents emigrated from Sudan—my dad in ’96, then my mom in ’99. My dad wanted to ensure that if he was bringing his wife over here, that he was going to be able to support her. And so he came a few years prior to get a job, find his footing, and then to go back to school. Then, as soon as he got into a master's program my mom came over.
I've been back [to Sudan] a few times in my life. I have a ton of family there, although because of the civil war that broke out last year, a lot of my family has fled, and so they're now in Egypt. But it's a strong part of who I am and my value system, with my parents coming from a more Eastern, a more communal perspective—rather than a Western individualistic perspective—it's almost like at times it can be like a culture clash.
At first, Elhassan says he felt like he wasn’t fitting in at the University of Minnesota…
My freshman year I was really struggling in terms of my own mental health. I was considering transferring. But I realized that it wasn't necessarily that I didn't feel like I belonged at the U. It was more that I just didn't feel like I belonged, period.
I think part of that was, in Eastern culture, it's almost taught that your job is to support others. But you should be self-sufficient. And so even exposing myself to office hours … I had to think of it like, “Just because I go to office hours doesn't mean that I'm not successful, or that I'm not intelligent. I just need support.” And that was hard to grasp for me.
And so when I’m mentoring other students, it's getting them to understand that college isn't designed for you to get through it with no type of support. During what are some of the most transformational years of your life, it’s okay to seek out support. If you're anything like me, you're probably not going to like it to start off, but sometimes you just have to push yourself.
Within his first year at the University of Minnesota, Elhassan found his fit with the National Association of Black Accountants, where he currently serves as vice president. He notes that
My experience with NABA has been phenomenal, from the very first time I walked in for a “meet the board” event. From there I was genuinely hooked. It was a place where I could tell everyone was driven, but their purpose for being there didn't just align with “This is going to help me get a job.” It was, “How do I cultivate a community on my campus for students who look like me?” And I thought that was really fantastic.
Since becoming involved with NABA, Elhassan has helped the organization develop multiple community engagement efforts.
When I came on as a NABA board member, a friend of mine and I had this idea to bring together three of the largest Black organizations on our campus—NABA, the National Association of Black Engineers, and the Black Student Union—to hold this competition called Pitch Perfect.
The first year we did it, the prompt was to create an initiative that promotes the well-being of the greater Twin Cities. I think as University of Minnesota students, we can sometimes get wrapped up in the little bubble that we have here and not really engage with our surrounding community. There are areas of Minneapolis that are suffering, or the people within them are suffering, and we can sometimes be ignorant to that. And so we wanted to bring about an event that gave students a reason to explore what's going on outside of their campus community.
We've also been doing outreach events to different high schools around the Twin Cities, to their Black Student Unions, to expose them to our organization and college overall, what that might look like for them … So that they know this is an option, that we're here for them. We are an organization that can help them achieve their goals.

While NABA has a mentorship program designed for undergraduate students, Elhassan also enjoys supporting students informally.
It’s fun seeing people come to me, having an idea of what it is that they want to do, but not be sure what direction to take, and then getting to help them, or give them that small push, and seeing them maybe three months later getting the internship they want, or getting into Carlson, or doing all of these things that they at one point were unsure if they were going to be able to do. And all they needed was that small push.
Elhassan says his interest in mentoring was driven by his own experiences with a mentor who made a difference in his life.
I had a mentor from about 7th through 12th grade. At the time I didn't even know what a mentor was. He was just Rigel, the YMCA teen center advisor (in Woodbury, Minn). Everything I did prior to meeting Rigel was centered around basketball. It was the only thing I could think about. Every day after school I would go to the Y for hours.
He started to push me outside of my own boundaries. I remember talking to him about this program called Youth in Government, and at first, I had no interest whatsoever. But then they mentioned that you get to spend four nights in a hotel in Minneapolis, and immediately I was like, “Okay, sign me up. I'm good. Let's go.”
And I fell in love with it. I ended up becoming an intern for the YMCA, then I was on a YMCA community board as a student representative, and I was on a statewide steering committee.
But it was something that had I not met Rigel, had he not pushed me to be a part of this program that was completely out of my comfort zone, I don't think I would have had the resolve to do that on my own. But he said, “Ayman, you have it in you. You have what it takes.” I think everyone needs that. But I think I especially needed that. I'm just so grateful to him, and I know I'm not the only one.
On his long-term plans for the future…
Starting a nonprofit someday is big for me. Being able to achieve generational wealth for your family is something that I really want to support others in making happen. I can't say I've achieved it myself yet. But it's something that I plan to achieve. It's something that I know I will achieve. So I want to have the tools necessary to provide those who come after me with the knowledge and understanding of what it takes to achieve their goals.
Starting points for change
The University of Minnesota has more than 1,000 student groups and organizations on its campuses
The University of Minnesota has numerous professional and cultural organizations for Black and African American students and other students of color.
Learn about the Management Information Systems through the Carlson School of Management.