Nawroz Pirani
By Zoë Eitel
When Nawroz Pirani came to DePaul, he admits he didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do, but he knew he wanted to challenge himself. He used his time in college to explore things he thought he might be interested in. This led Nawroz into multiple internships–including one at Gatorade that he says, as a big sports guy, was particularly exciting–and a stint in consulting at Huron Consulting Group after college.
“If you’re not sure of your path, that’s okay. In my opinion, it’s normal to be unsure of what you want to do, but you should have an open mind to pursue an opportunity–any opportunity–and try things,” Nawroz says. “Those choices will become more clear as you gain more experience.”
After spending time in consulting and then in corporate finance and strategy, Nawroz decided it was time he gave owning his own business a shot. That’s where Code Ninjas came in. With a fellow DePaul alumnus, Nawroz opened a franchise of the coding center for children in 2019. He says he was intrigued by the unique idea of the business, especially after doing research and seeing that there was a lack of competitors in this field.
Owner and Area Director of Code Ninjas Long Grove IL
BS Finance 2008
Nawroz and his business partner were shocked to find the field so lacking and felt it was important to be one of the first people in the market. They realized that technology has become a major part in everyday life and they had the opportunity to provide kids with a better understanding of it.
“You get this network of people who went to DePaul that currently work for companies in your industry, and they are telling you what their experiences are like, what their experiences were when they were a senior or junior looking for internships or for a job. That’s very helpful.”
“No matter what kids these days are going to be doing in the future–whatever their career may be–they’re going to be interacting with technology,” Nawroz says. “I think it’s very critical for them to learn how things work.”
As the first member of his family to go to college, Nawroz says he values education and it was something that his family always stressed: to take the opportunities in front of him to get an education because they weren’t able. So while he was in college, Nawroz mainly focused on his classes at night and worked his internships during the day, like the one at Gatorade that was year-round.
Nawroz says he was interviewed for the Gatorade internship through DePaul’s Handshake platform and that he was constantly checking the site, even when he wasn’t looking for work.
“I would consistently look at that to see what types of internships or jobs were out there because it’s really important, as you become a junior or senior, that you look at what’s out there, what are the requirements and what can you do to make sure you become a qualified candidate,” he says. “You might not be qualified now, but next year, what can you do in your power to make sure that you have all of the qualifications listed there?”
Making sure you are informed about what the job industry in your field looks like is something Nawroz emphasizes as being important. He says freshman and sophomore students should take the opportunity to talk to upperclassmen who are actively undergoing the job search to get an idea of what they will be going into in the near future.
