Member of Sigma Alpha Delta Since: 2006 – 2007 Baruch College Date of Graduation: Spring 2008 Major: Accountancy Motto: “Every gray cloud has a silver lining”.

Throughout Sigma Alpha Delta’s vaunted history, the society has generated an impressive consortium of professionals. Few have been as impressive as Annie Salam, a former leader who is serenaded with job offers irrespective of market conditions. Some call her flamboyant; this adjective accompanies her diva-esque persona, her larger than life approach to the world and her penchant for optimism. “Every grey cloud has a silver lining— that is my motto because I like to approach life with an optimistic mindset. There are so many negative things in this world, I try my best to ignore them” Annie says.

Her dream was to become a doctor—a dream which was heavily engineered through her love for biology. “My parents were supportive of any field or discipline I was interested in. Conventional wisdom is that my parents imposed this dream on me, but that’s not true, I was always interested in the study of medicine since I was a child. When I matured into an adult, I realized it was an incompatible dream because I was afraid of blood—so I just opted for Accountancy, which I felt was the most lucrative field in business” she says.

Annie was an unstoppable over-achiever. During her stint in Baruch, she held four different internships, participated in many student organizations and maintained a superb GPA. During her freshman year she interned as an Accounting Assistant at Jams Rock Entertainment. Then she interned with Banner Direct as a Control Assistant in her sophomore year. “Those first two years were enlightening—I was learning the details of the corporate world, getting myself adjusted as a college student and refining my time management skills, all at once” Annie recalls. She then landed a premier internship at SMBC Investment Bank, as a Controller. Her impeccable resume allowed her to subsequently land a tax internship with KPMG, one of the Big Four Accounting firms. “Once I became an intern at KPMG, I sort of knew that I made it. I mean, it’s a Big Four, every accounting major desires to land something with a firm of that caliber” she exclaims.

Annie’s initial involvement in Sigma Alpha Delta required contemplation. . She questioned if she could invest her time into the organization—“I didn’t want to be a member if I was going to offer only 50%. That is not how I do things” she mentions. However, through intense deliberation, she ultimately decided to become a member. She ascended up the ranks gradually and in the fall of 2006, she was elected as the organization’s Treasurer. This position coincided with her major in Accountancy—therefore she excelled both as a professional and as a leader. “I knew then and there that I was going to be a Sigma member forever” Annie says. She increased her workload the following semester by being elected for the Vice Presidency. Her calm demeanor meshed well with the fiery passion possessed by the President of the spring 2007 semester, Christopher Garner. “Chris and I complimented one another nicely. He and I agreed on pretty much everything; there were only one or two major disagreements throughout the semester.  The Induction Fee Removal was one of them”. Let me expound on the Induction Fee Removal controversy. Sigma had a fixed induction fee of $20 until the spring 2007. However, many Sigma leaders saw an affordable induction fee being exploited by hordes of academic achievers. Everyone would pay the Induction Fee and never contribute anything meaningful to the Honor Society. Certain Sigma President’s attempted to circumvent this phenomenon by abolishing the Induction Fee from Sigma’s Constitution—but many failed amidst the dissent in their Executive Board. Christopher Garner was determined to abrogate the Induction Fee and his most formidable challenge would come from his Vice President, Annie Salam. “I stand firm with my convictions, Christopher is a good friend of mine, but the fact is, I felt Sigma should have an Induction Fee because every Honor Society had one at the time. I understand the logic of not having one, but that doesn’t mean I necessarily agree with it” she explains.

Even though the Induction Fee was ultimately removed as the main medium for Induction, Annie maintained the higher ground by not embittering herself over the finality of the decision. “I’m not going to cry about it—the majority of the Executive Board wanted the fee to be removed and I have to respect that. At the time, my intentions were to draw in members, not depress our overall membership base” she says.

Her portrait as a leader is certainly impressive. Her experience with Sigma Alpha Delta allowed her to modify her people skills—she became an adept networker, a good speaker and an indisputably polished leader. Her placid demeanor cannot be understated. “When it comes down to it, I’m really chill. I don’t stress over anything, I am very optimistic about the capabilities that myself and others around me have. I can never duplicate my time with Sigma anywhere else. I’ve met some of my best friends here, every interaction has been a blessing, and every hangout has been priceless. I still carry around my Sigma business cards. It has a sentimental value to it. I cherish it. Sigma is an indispensable opportunity at leadership. People cannot allow an opportunity such as this to go by ignored.”

Annie’s ambitions haven’t been softened yet—she still plans to coordinate another career change. Her aim of becoming a Corporate Lawyer is coming into fruition as she studies for her LSAT. She plans to attend Columbia University or New York University sometime in 2010. “I left my full-time employment at KPMG because I wanted to study for the LSAT. I’m working at Tishman-Speyer as a Controller; it’s one of the best real estate firms in New York City.” Her astonishing attributes have not declined one bit, she is still the prototypical professional. Her insatiable hunger to learn and promote her career has always been her strongest motivational factor.