Meet Young Mastermind Mahamudun Bhuiyan
Meet Young Mastermind Mahamudun Bhuiyan
Mahamudun Bhuiyan is a first generation immigrant from Bangladesh, who is looking to further the knowledge and health of the world through his work as a scientist and a researcher, with the goal of owning his own laboratory. He is currently a student at the City College of New York and is majoring in Biotechnology with a minor in Business Management and will pursue a Master's after he finishes his undergrad. He sees himself as a student of life, who is always looking to grow and learn whenever and wherever. The things he finds the most value in are experiences and his network.
We connected with Mahamudun through our partnership with the NYC Urban Ambassadors, from which he graduated and is now a facilitator. At NYCUA, Mahamudun creates and teaches lessons on what he has learned through the program, and his experience in College Readiness, Leadership, Introspection, Mastery Learning, and Brotherhood. Even as a facilitator he is always looking to improve his skills from any and everywhere he can.
How would the person who knows you best describe you? Resourceful, determined, and straight forward.
What brings you joy? Helping others and working to bring society one step closer to what I believe it can be.
If you could learn only one magic spell, but it could only do something mundane and boring, what would the spell do? Automatically file my taxes.
What was your best drop the mic moment? When brother Hector from Urban Ambassadors asked us to search the meaning of our names and I combined the meaning of my first and middle names which are Mahamudun and Nobi. I found out that my first name meant one who discovers and my middle name which means Prophet and combined both meanings into being The Prophet of Discovery.
What are some of your personal principles? Discipline, honesty, integrity, and along with integrity, always keep my word.
What are some goals you’d like to achieve in the next year? Passing and thriving in all my classes this semester and joining as many research related internships and fellowships as possible to gain as much experience as I possibly can.
Who has been your biggest inspiration so far, and why? My biggest inspiration has been my parents because of everything they have done for me and perseverance they have shown when faced with coming to America which is a whole new world from Bangladesh.
What would you say to your younger self based off what you know now?: Stop being afraid of failure and just go for it (with a plan).
Who matters most in your life? My friends and family.
What does friendship mean to you? A friend is someone who is always there for you whenever you need them and will always be truthful and straightforward with me when I start to make bad decisions.
What is your favorite book and why? "Between The World and Me" by Ta Nehisi Coates because it opened my eyes to the injustice that I had been blind to for most of my life and put the things I have struggled with into very eloquent words.
What does brotherhood mean to you? Before the Urban Ambassadors program I never really had a true brotherhood. I've had friends but never a group of people that were not only cheering for my success but we're also going to help me achieve that success.
Share with us some of the dreams you wish to accomplish: I wish to work in research laboratories all over the world and possibly own my own one day.
What has been your biggest accomplishment to date? Getting to work with the Urban Ambassadors and Mastermind connect programs. (More yet to come)
What has been your best volunteering experience? I have done over 200 volunteer hours at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.
What is something that you’re struggling with? Time management and getting opportunities to show off what I can do.
How do you keep yourself motivated? I ask my friends and family to keep me accountable. Telling someone I'm going to do something solidifies that I am going to do it.
What is the most interesting piece of trivia you know? Chickens and turkeys are the closest things we have to dinosaurs. They have evolved the least from their dinosaur ancestors.
Did you have a mentor growing up? My mentors have been a few of my teachers throughout highschool and my mentors at Urban Ambassadors and Mastermind.
Have you ever been a mentor to someone else? At Urban Ambassadors, as a facilitator I am a mentor to many students who are a few years younger than me.
Do you feel capable of mentoring someone else, and if not why? I believe anyone who has gone through and experience can mentor others to get through that experience and the other person can help the mentor with things that the mentee has experienced. So we all mentor each other because no one has had every experience there can be and not every experience is the same.
What movie do you wish life was more like? Any futuristic movie where the world has learned to stop fighting itself.
What are some business/professional goals you have? Get as much research and lab experience as possible. Gain connections with scientists from all over the world. Start my own research laboratory or my own business
What are some of the personal goals you have? Learn as much as I can and never become content with learning. Make a vast web of connections.
What made you want to become a Mastermind Connect member? Improving my network of connections and giving back to the community that brought me up.
How do you see Mastermind Connect helping you grow? Helping me to improve my leadership skills, allowing me opportunities to show the world what to do, and helping me find ways to give back.
What would you like to see "more of" in our community? More presence in classrooms and events that bring in students from neglected areas who seem lost.
What do you want your legacy to be? Growing the knowledge of humanity and improving, not only US society but the world as well.
What childish thing do you still enjoy? Playing video games, reading manga, and if I have time watching anime.
What would your 8th Grade favorite teacher say about what you were like back then? That I was hardworking and always liked helping others, which in turn would help me.
What is your motto? Always keep your word and question everything.
Do you make other people uncomfortable sometimes, and why? My over curious nature has made people uncomfortable before and I have tried to control it as much as I can.
When did you realize you were no longer a kid (please elaborate)? I still see myself as a kid being only 19 years old. But I think anyone who takes responsibility for their lives into their own hands and out of their parents is no longer a "kid", however since I still live with my parents I still see myself as a kid.
What’s not to love about you? Similar to what made others uncomfortable around me, my curiosity sometimes seems as though I am prying because I question everything.
Who or what is your nemesis? Time management and procrastination has always been my nemesis.c
What long shot have you taken that really paid off? Applying to and interviewing for Urban Ambassadors. I never thought I would be able to get in.
What were you really into when you were younger but now think is silly? Yu-Gi-Oh (a card game that is very similar to Pokemon).
What is the most useless thing you know how to do? How to move the skin on the top of my head and my ears.
What is the highest pressure situation you have experienced and how did you handle it? Presenting what Urban Ambassadors is in front of many Principals and Superintendents. I handled it by coming up with a game plan for the presentation with my fellow FITs English and Joshua and practicing.
If you could add 4 hours to your day, what would you spend that 4 hours doing? Making a schedule to follow for the week and teaching myself how to code.
What’s something you were really stressed about, it turned out to be no big deal? My bio lab exam final.
What three events made the biggest impact on who you are today? Moving to the US, being accepted to NYC Urban AMbassadors, and becoming a Facilitator in Training.
What is something that most people get wrong about you? That I am always quiet and timid.
What’s the biggest doubt you have? I will never amount to everyone's expectations of me.
What do you think you know a lot about but probably don’t? Nursing and medicine.
If you died today, what would your greatest achievement be? Convincing some of the UA students that they are cut out to go to private and Ivy league colleges.
What stories from your life will you tell your children about (assuming you have children)? Everything I've done in UA; how I opened my own laboratory; and how I discovered the cure to a disease (hopefully).
What did you think was silly until you tried it? Reading manga and comics.
When you are daydreaming, what do you dream about? At the moment, getting my own place to live and paying my parents back for everything they've done for me.
What do you believe even though you know it’s probably wrong? Humans will one day stop hurting our own planet and each other.
What signs make you think someone will go on to be successful? Confidence, drive, determination, having great people around them, and the ability to listen to the great people around them.
What’s the most unusual but fun experience you’ve had? Camping within New York City, during the Camping to Connect event at Governors Island in 2018.
What have you done wrong for most of your life and only recently found out the right way to do it?: What studying habit works best for me.
How does your definition of a “real man” differ from the mainstream stereotype of a “real man”? I see a "real man" as a person who does everything in their power to work and provide for their loved ones and are always looking to improve themselves. They will also try to help anyone in need whenever necessary.
If time wasn’t an issue and you had forever to master a skill, what skill would you master? Public speaking without stuttering.
What’s the best bad decision you’ve made? Not applying to Ivy league colleges and sticking to an affordable CUNY.