How I Got My Start in Corporate Communications
My story is one of hope and good fortune in equal measure. Today, I'm a corporate communications professional living in the Chicago area. When I look back on how I got here it sometimes feels like my life is an unwritten novel. All of what follows is true.My roots
My parents immigrated to Chicago from Pakistan before I was born so that my father could complete his training as a physician. My mother had studied journalism, but became a home maker once I arrived on the scene. Like all immigrants they dreamed of a better future and opportunities that could change our lives forever. After my Dad completed his training he moved us south to a small town to open a clinic which would come to thrive. Here my younger sister and I lived with our parents until our university days.
I need to mention that throughout my childhoood my parents never forced us to take our careers in a particular direction, but they always taught us that books, reading and writing were of paramount importance. I would wake up in the morning and quickly read the Chicago Tribune after my father had seen it before I left for school. When we would go out for dinner once a week my sister and I would take our books with us and quietly read until the food reached the table. We were taken to libraries after school and we would argue about how many books we could take home - somehow there was never enough. My parents would occasionally take us to museums and cultural events in Chicago on weekends after Sunday School. We clocked a lot of hours together, yet I never really realized how unusual my upbringing was.
My first written words
Strangely, although I was devouring several books a week by high school I had never really thought of becoming a writer. I went through a tough time where I was picked on; I didn't feel I fit in anywhere and I didn't know who were my friends. My name and beliefs were alien, and I tried desperately to be one of the cool kids, if not on the basketball court and soccer field, then in how I dressed and spoke. Looking back now I realize I was not the only one who was so self conscious. We were all so young.
My mother introduced me to a writing tutor around this time who helped me understand that a piece of paper and a pencil could be transformational. I didn't have to compete with anyone when I was writing, I could express myself with my pen and not be judged. Seeing that I had an interest in writing, my mother again got in touch with the Managing Editor of our town's newspaper and asked if I could join. I began as a summer intern earning 10 cents a word, and went on to get my first job with the same paper as a cub reporter.
By the time I got into university it was clear to me that I was a communicator, but communicate what? I knew that I was interested in fitness, psychology, journalism, history and spirituality, so I joined the mass communications program and minored in psychology at Benedictine University, completing internships for a civil rights organization in Washington DC and a psych ward in a hospital in Illinois. By the time I finished I knew I needed to not only know how to write, but also think properly and understand ideas. With 9/11 happening in my final year at Benedictine, I decided that I would like to study Arabic and Islam with the goal of either being an academic or a member of the Shia clergy. My parents again said I could do whatever I wanted, but that whatever it was I did I must do my best.
Beginning of a long journey
After I got my BA, I went to Middlebury College in Vermont for a few months, where I was not allowed to speak in any language but Arabic outside the classroom. By the end of the summer I was beginning to dream in the language. Near the end of my studies at Middlebury I heard of an Arabic language institute in Morocco called ALIF. After looking into it carefully I decided to go there for a year. After one year of solid Arabic that made understanding ancient texts a bit easier I moved to the Islamic College, a Middlesex University affiliated institute in London, UK, where I took two years of post-grad studies in one year, earning a post-graduate certificate - basically a Masters without a thesis.
Having married my soulmate - a Canadian from the Toronto area - my wife and I moved to Wayne State University in Detroit, where I pursued my first post-grad degree in Near Eastern Literature, with an ancient Arabic concentration. This gave me an academic understanding of the religion, culture and language of the people of the Middle East, including in North America, and helped me understand my own heritage as well. I did not entirely trust the academic perspective, which I did not feel was truly unbiased. I still wanted to have an insider's understanding with belief having a central role, so I took seminary classes early on Saturday mornings in nearby Dearborn. I also worked as a journalist at a local publication, going on to co-found a niche international newspaper with my wife. With readers around the world it was a time of profound optimism, and it led to our next big move.
Moving near Dubai
After graduating from Wayne State, I realized that neither religious studies nor my publication although personally fulfilling, would put bread on the table. I started applying for work at larger publications and successfully returned to mainstream journalism, joining the world-class team that launched the UAE emirate of Abu Dhabi's first international English newspaper, The National, which was owned by the government. With my fluency in different languages, degrees and understanding of different cultures and religious communities, I felt quite comfortable in my own skin there. Living near friends and family in the region we felt truly blessed. Additionally, I began freelancing as a copywriter on the side, having met and made friends with the director of a nearby marketing agency, Impact BBDO.
Escape
I think it's fair to say everyone at The National had high hopes that the publication would help introduce an era of never before seen freedom and openness not only in the UAE but the rest of the region. This dream was shattered when the Arab Spring protests began to sweep the region and media across the region was choked by stifling censorship and repression. For many of us, we did not sign up for this. Colleagues began leaving the publication in droves, disillusioned by how the last heralded major newspaper launch had turned out, and I too left with my wife. She gave birth to our son in Toronto not long after, and we returned to Chicago where I would have to figure out what to do next. I knew communications would be important but at this point I was not clear on the future.
Loving design, I began taking graphic design courses at a community college in the suburbs. One day while I was sitting in a class I heard of Northwestern University's MS in Corporate Communications program. I was excited by its course offerings, so I applied with my whole family's blessings. We were all euphoric when I was accepted. NU's journalism and communications programs are world class. Surely this was a place where I would find out what to do next.
Eureka
I joined a very popular marketing class, which had a syllabus that was broadly attractive. The professor was the kind of teacher one never forgot and who spoke to us as peers, although in seniority, skill and experience he was far above us. As the weeks passed I began to trust him. Summoning up the courage to share my experience and confusion with him one day after class, I asked what I should do. He said he didn't know but that we would find out.
Interestingly, in this class our participation was not only scored, but it was ranked. All us students were registered to a closed site that resembled Twitter in its appearance and functionality. We were to tweet our ideas about the course readings and how it related to our varied perspectives. Those who participated more and successfully engaged classmates would receive a higher score. For example, writing a question that would get the class talking would get a higher score than a post that had no response.
By the end of the course I was securely in second place, ahead of many classmates who were seasoned marketing communications professionals. Really what surprised me was that it had felt almost effortless.
My professor asked me how I was doing it. Honestly, I did not know at the time why I was successful. I was just applying very raw communications skills and being what I thought was lively and fun. "It's just fun for me, it's not a big deal," I mentioned to him. "It's a huge deal," he sputtered, "there is a lot of money in social media marketing, don't you know?" I had no idea.
Reborn
And that is how I got my full-time start in corporate communications. Finally realizing where my interests and abilities neatly intersected, I applied and was hired to join the social media team at JWT that supported Ford US in Dearborn, Michigan. Returning to the area, but in an entirely different capacity was an amazing experience. A few years later my little family and I moved to Toronto where I continued my career, first at Black & McDonald and then at TD Bank. I stayed in the Toronto area for eight years before moving back to Chicago in October, 2024, and I'm now pursuing opportunities across the US.
By now I'm not just in an expert in social media, but in broad areas of internal and external communications. I know how to write, speak, manage projects, lead, and, most importantly, to listen. I will always be grateful for the blessings I've enjoyed and the people - too many to count - who helped me on my way, but special shout out to my parents, my wife and her parents who have been a bedrock of support through thick and thin.
I can't wait for what's next!
Check out Ali's profile on LinkedIn at: https://linkedin.com/in/aatifbokhari
