Mohammed Serdah grew up with two things: a love of New Paltz and a work ethic that he gained from his father, Radi Serdah, a local business-owner. His parents met at SUNY New Paltz, fell in love with the area and decided to settle here and raise their family. “I can’t thank them enough for that,” said Mohammed. “Growing up in New Paltz made me appreciate my beautiful surroundings, and after all my travels and job opportunities far and wide, New Paltz has my heart. Just driving down Main Street and seeing the Gunks always brings a smile to my face whenever returning from a trip.”
Serdah worked at his father’s shop since it first opened 21 years ago. “I can remember writing out invoices and collecting money at the shop at a very young age. I grew to understand just what it takes to earn a dollar,” he said. While attending college, he continued to also work six days a week, gaining knowledge from various internships that he took on. He said that he knew from a “young age that I was interested in finance and accounting. I remember Mr. Parks Glenn asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was 10 years old, and I said, ‘a stockbroker.’”
As he went through college, seeing the crash on Wall Street, he decided to stick with accounting, went on to become a licensed tax accountant and recently opened up his own business, Serdah Consultants, at 211 Main Street.
He said that he has been “blessed to work alongside great businessmen like my father, Pascal Guirma, George Iacobaccio and Paul Mula — each of them with a different profession, but all share the same view on business: Ethics comes first; the money will follow. Doing right by your client will keep you in business.”
“I love my work. I care about my clients.” He said that in his estimation, accounting, at its core, draws a picture into the life of a company or person. “It puts it out there in black-and-white, and I find that so interesting.”
Serdah is this week’s subject for the New Paltz Times meet and greet.
Business
Serdah Consultants.
Occupation
Income tax specialist, accountant.
Where are you from originally?
New Paltz, born and raised.
What makes New Paltz unique?
How in touch we all are with our surroundings; the camaraderie that exists between us.
What do you like about this community?
The community is eclectic and open to new ideas. New Paltz is a melting pot, which enhances the quality of life, because without change we are only stagnant.
Join the family! 
