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Graduate says CBA coursework, Alpha Iota Delta and faculty mentorship prepared him to pursue a Ph.D.
Before Surith Bhowmick came to Central Michigan University from Dhaka, Bangladesh, he knew what he wanted from his college experience: meaningful academic opportunities within a community where he could build relationships and become known.
CMU offered that balance. During four years in Mount Pleasant, Bhowmick built a network across the university, gained research and teaching experience through the College of Business Administration, and found a faculty mentor who helped him prepare for the academic career he envisioned.
Bhowmick is now pursuing a Ph.D. in international business administration at Texas A&M International University, where he also serves as a graduate research assistant. His path reflects what drew him to CMU in the first place, the opportunity to pursue ambitious goals without becoming lost in the crowd.
“I was looking for a university where the community would be small so that I could connect with everyone,” Bhowmick said. “If the university was too big, it would be hard for me to figure out whom to connect with.”
Bhowmick arrived at CMU with an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and experience working as a bank officer. He had already considered earning a doctorate, but wanted to complete a master’s degree first as he adjusted to a new country and a different educational system.
“The master’s was an opportunity for me to understand how the American educational structure worked,” he said. “I wanted to understand how I was going to write the assignments, how the professors would judge them and everything, because the education system [in the United States] is totally different from my country.”
He enrolled in CMU’s Master of Science in Administration program and shifted from engineering management to the project management concentration. Half of his 24-credit program consisted of business courses, giving him a clearer view of how his interests in technology, project management and administration could support doctoral study in business.
“I was hunting for an opportunity,” Bhowmick said. “I understood that I had to engage, but I did not know how.”
Bhowmick already served as treasurer of a CMU’s Project Management Chapter, secretary of the International Student Committee and an associate justice in the Student Government Association. A friend he met through that involvement eventually connected him with Dr. Edward Chou, chair of the Department of Management and faculty adviser for Alpha Iota Delta.
Alpha Iota Delta provided that opening. The international honor society focuses on decision, information and operations sciences, but Bhowmick found that its CMU chapter welcomed students whose interests crossed traditional academic boundaries.
“AID welcomed everyone and gave me a clear picture of the research world,” Bhowmick said.
Through AID, he visited employers, met business faculty and professionals, and learned what it was like to present research before an academic audience. The organization supported his first research abstract and conference presentation. He continues to work with Chou and other collaborators on research examining organizational adoption of artificial intelligence.
For Bhowmick, the experience demonstrated that student involvement could do more than build a resume. It could help a student test an academic interest, contribute to research and become part of a professional community.
As Bhowmick became more involved with AID, Chou became a central figure in his CMU experience. Bhowmick said Chou connected him with management faculty, helped him identify resources for his research and talked through the academic and practical considerations he faced as an international student.
“He actually polished me,” Bhowmick said. “He gave me all the resources that I needed. He encouraged me all the time.”
That relationship has continued since Bhowmick moved to Texas. He still contacts Chou when he encounters a research problem or needs guidance on a paper.
“Maybe he is busy, or maybe he responds two or three days later, but he replies,” Bhowmick said. “I feel that is a good thing about a professor.”
Bhowmick also taught three courses over two semesters as an adjunct faculty member at CMU—experience that strengthened his preparation for doctoral study and his goal of eventually becoming a professor.
Bhowmick is still adjusting to the intensity of doctoral study, which he described as far more reading and writing than a traditional degree program. His long-term goal, however, remains clear. He wants to follow in the footsteps of faculty at CMU.
“I saw how the professors got engaged with the students,” he said. “I want to be like that.”
His advice to current students is to seek opportunities before they know exactly where those opportunities will lead. Joining organizations, meeting people outside their programs and taking on responsibility can reveal paths that coursework alone might not.
“Students should get involved in club activities, not only as volunteers,” Bhowmick said. “They should also try to be decision-makers.”
The university he initially found surprisingly quiet became the close-knit academic community he had hoped to find.
“The CBA professors I met were all engaging with their students, and students were very comfortable with their professors,” Bhowmick said. “I felt at home.”
