"Seton Hall's Career Center is amazing. I love my career adviser; she helped me get an internship at Lockheed Martin. That internship led to a full-time job offer from Lockheed at the start of my senior year. I was one of only eight people put into the Engineering Leadership Development Program."

Malik became a member of the Seton Hall community in the 8th grade, when he joined the Upward Bound program. "I am so grateful to Seton Hall for embracing me and opening my eyes to a broader world. Being from a disadvantaged background, I never really thought about college. But as soon as I stepped onto Seton Hall's campus, I felt like I belonged. When it came time to choose a college, I knew I had to attend Seton Hall."

Malik took advantage of the University's Career Center, meeting with his adviser to create a resume and discuss internship opportunities. This quickly led to an internship at Lockheed Martin. "It helped me grow so much professionally and show me what to expect from the working world. I was asked to work on two teams: one developing software for the human resources department and the other working on the inventory provisioning system. It was invaluable to do work directly in my field — management information systems — and to contribute to a huge company that I had read about in my textbooks."

Malik's internship at Lockheed Martin led to a full-time job offer early in his senior year. "This was such a huge blessing. I was so lucky that Lockheed not only hired me but also chose me as one of just eight new employees selected for its Engineering Leadership Development Program. This allows me to meet executives and spend three years working in three different divisions. At the end of the program, I get to decide which area of the company I want to work for permanently."

Malik greatly appreciated the accessibility of the Seton Hall faculty. "Because classes are small and this is such a tight, close-knit community, I can easily talk with my professors. They know me on a first-name basis. They are very friendly and caring. I feel so lucky. I know some of my friends who attended larger schools don't feel this connection with their professors and feel intimidated."

Being part of the Martin Luther King Scholarship Association at Seton Hall taught Malik the importance of giving back and helping the community. "The MLK society really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. It forced me to grow and step into a leadership role, to learn to go out into the community to give back and raise awareness. This was so important for me because the purpose of college is to help you grow as a person so you can go out into the real world and make a difference."