Amin Mirbod – President, Financial Mathematics Student Association (FMA)

As President of the FMA this year, Amin has come to see the organization as a conduit between the students and the program.  “We started engaging with new MFM and FQF students even before we met them on campus last fall. In the summer of 2021 we helped the incoming class onboard to our campus through Slack and email groups. 

At our virtual FMA meetings throughout the year, local and national companies spoke to the students. The majority of the firms who attended employ many of our alumni.  The alumni are eager to come back and let those in the program know what it is like on the front lines of quantitative finance. The type of work they introduced us to this past year covered quantitative and investment analysis, data science, trading, model validation and quantitative risk analytics.  

These same firms and others also attended the annual graduate student Quantitative Finance and Statistics Career Event which we held virtually in November of 2021. We co-hosted it with the Statistics Master’s program, like we have for at least the last 6 years. We are experiencing such a hot job market and with the scarcity of talent, companies are on the hunt for quantitative finance and data science skills. Our FMA activities have been a win-win for both employers and current MFM and FQF students alike.

FMA is very engaged with the MFM alumni, especially with the recent graduates.  The stories they tell of their journeys are so inspiring.  As I think about the impact they have on current students, I don’t know where to begin. The benefits are hard to quantify (no pun intended). What they share - the experiences, perspectives, support – not to mention their connections and introductions – are so valuable and something that MFM and FQF students can only access through our program and the FMA. The alumni are the role models for everyone, and they serve as a testament that success is within reach.”