<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><item href="/about/newsroom/alumni-stories-nivel-gurung.cfm" dsn="blogs"><featured>true</featured><pubDate>03/27/2026</pubDate><title>Alum leverages lessons in finance, confidence</title><description>Nivel Gurung had more than a decade of experience in the banking sector when he enrolled in M.S. in Finance at UBalt. He wanted a place that would challenge him to grow academically and set him apart in the workforce. </description><author>UBalt Stories</author><image><img src="https://www.ubalt.edu/about/newsroom/assets/images/nivel-gurung-feature.jpg" alt="Nivel Gurung poses, smiling, at the camera, while standing on the UBalt campus outside its Academic Center."/></image><image-cap/><quote>UBalt didn’t just shape my career—it helped shape who I am today.
									</quote><quote-name>Nivel Gurung</quote-name><quote-info>M.S. ’24</quote-info><tags><tag>Alumni Stories</tag><tag>Merrick School of Business</tag><tag>graduate stories</tag></tags></item>