“Waterloo is a place where students have the opportunity to try so many different things.”
Many students feel pressured to decide on a defined career path early on in their undergraduate career. Joy Zhang isn’t one of them. The second-year Financial Analysis & Risk Management (FARM) student is embracing the opportunity to explore her options in her time at the University of Waterloo.
Building a Foundation
Zhang opted to study at the Faculty of Mathematics because she recognized the practical value of mastering the fundamentals. “The other day, I was talking a cousin who works at a startup for blockchain, and he emphasized how important his university-level math knowledge has been in the tech world,” she shares. “Math provides a behind-the-scenes look at how tech works and helps you see the bigger picture.” Zhang chose the Financial Analysis route of the FARM program, which prepares students to obtain a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, because “the CFA is so globally recognized that the program gives you an advantage and a head start,” she says.
While the CFA path represents a blend of math and business that appeals to Zhang, she’s keeping her options open. “I know that I want to start an investment portfolio and start investing money in real funds before graduating,” she says, “but overall, I’m not too sure what I want to achieve. My goal is to learn and experience as many different things as possible.”
Finding Possibilities
Two years into her time at Waterloo, Zhang is achieving that goal. For one of her co-op terms, she worked at the University’s Centre for Career Action (CECA). “It was a perfect opportunity to work with big data,” she says. During her months at CECA, Zhang created a tool for account managers to view employers’ student hire histories and facilitate the hiring process. While she enjoyed the experience, she’s eager to add variety to her portfolio. “I’ve been thinking about trying out accounting, finance, and maybe investment banking down the road,” she shares.
Zhang came across her most exciting opportunity to date through a family friend Ray Li. Li, the co-captain of WATonomous, encouraged Zhang to join the team in her 1B term. She had very little working knowledge of autonomous vehicles—or engineering, for that matter—but she took a chance and signed up to become a sponsorship manager for the student-run organization.
“It was all brand new,” she remembers. Zhang worked on the team in charge of securing funds for materials that WATonomous needed to remain competitive in the ongoing SAE AutoDrive Challenge. She and her colleagues would stand in front of sponsorship organizations, including the Mathematics Endowment Found and Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation, to explain budget proposals. “It was a struggle at times,” she admits. “I needed to understand how the equipment worked so I could explain it during sponsorship pitches, but I didn’t have an engineering background.” Zhang persevered and learned from her team members.
“WATonomous is a group of motivated people working together toward a common goal,” she affirms. “When you finally get to see how the car navigates after all the work that went into it, it’s a great moment.”
Outside of working hours, Zhang plays the violin in the Chinese Instrumental Orchestra Club and participates in initiatives like the Green Residence Ambassador program, an education and outreach program geared toward waste reduction in student residences. “Waterloo is a good environment to meet motivated, down-to-earth people who are willing to help,” she reflects.
“There are so many opportunities to get involved here.” Zhang doesn’t know what the next two years at Waterloo will bring, but she welcomes the adventure.