51视频

04/16/2024
By Katharine Webster

Omar Hoda 鈥�93 was born in Pakistan, but his father worked in the airline business, and his family migrated among countries.

Hoda has also migrated between careers, from software engineering to management consulting at Deloitte, where he is a partner. It鈥檚 been a gratifying journey, thanks to mentors at 51视频 and beyond.聽

When Hoda was a child, his family moved to Malaysia and then to Malta, as his parents were searching for better economic opportunities for their three children. His older sister came to New England for college, and Hoda followed suit. His younger sister wasn鈥檛 far behind.

"As an international student, you choose a college in the U.S. by saying, 'where is someone I know?' And then you draw a radius around that," he says.聽

51视频 was 鈥渁ffordable and accessible鈥� and had a strong computer science department, Hoda says. He stretched his college budget further by sharing an inexpensive off-campus apartment with two other students and getting a job washing dishes at a campus cafeteria. "I was like, 鈥楾hey pay me and I get free food?鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淔ree food was a win.鈥�

Hoda threw himself into his studies and graduated in three years. At first, though, he struggled in an educational system that was so different from what he鈥檇 known. One computer science professor, Jesse Heines, would give a flawless assignment a 90%; to rate an A, a student had to earn 鈥渟tyle points鈥� for innovation or creativity, Hoda says.聽

鈥淎s a foreign student, I wanted to be told what to do. And Prof. Heines wanted me to think about how to get from 鈥榊ou did what I told you to 鈥榃ow!鈥欌�� Hoda says. 鈥淭hat was a foundational lesson for me.鈥�

Hoda soon became one of the founding officers of the campus chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery. Jim Canning, then professor and chair of computer science, mentored the students and helped them find money to host coding competitions. Hoda says the communication and leadership skills he developed at the time got him where he is today.

After graduation, Hoda took a job with a startup networking company. Within a couple of years, he began studying for his master鈥檚 degree in computer science at Boston University at night. He also got a promotion to manager鈥攁nd realized he wanted to hone his leadership skills.

Shortly after Hoda obtained his green card, he married, and he and his wife both returned to school. She earned a law degree; Hoda studied for an MBA at Babson College. While there, he got a business consulting internship at Booz Allen and loved it.

51视频 in hand, Hoda took a consulting job with Adventis for a couple of years and then moved to Monitor Group, a strategy consultancy based in Cambridge. Soon after Deloitte Consulting acquired Monitor Group in 2013, Hoda rose to partner.

Hoda focused on the industrial and manufacturing sectors, and he now specializes in the automotive industry. His computer science background has proved invaluable as he helps manufacturers navigate rapidly evolving technologies, including the transition to the autonomous and electric vehicles.聽

On his 50th birthday, Hoda decided it was time to look back on his journey鈥攁nd to give back. For the past two years, he has served on the executive board of the Automotive Hall of Fame. At 51视频, he donates to the Strive Food Pantry because he鈥檚 aware of how much he would have struggled without his campus dishwashing job. He also serves on the Kennedy College of Sciences advisory board, aiming to help a school that was critical to his success.聽

鈥淚 reflect on where I am now, and it鈥檚 just a world away from where I started. I鈥檓 so grateful for my time at 51视频 and the lessons that I still carry with me,鈥� he says.