Jiachen Xu
Biography
MEng Concentration: Financial Engineering
Anticipated Graduation Date: December 2018
Education (previous degree): College of William and Mary; Double major in Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance
Experience:
- Sinolink Securities: Equity Research Intern at Derivatives Department (Summer 2017)
- Leadership: Co-founder of Startup Company WelpU (November 2015 – May 2017)
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch: Trading Research Intern at FX trading Department (Winter 2016)
- University of Pennsylvania: Research Assistant for Economics Department (Summer 2016)
- Leadership: Executive Board Sports Chair; Sub-Committee for VP, Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) (September 2013 – May 2016)
Hobbies: Rubik’s Cube (speed cubing); playing piano; playing basketball (starting line-up shooting guard); billiards; tennis
Why do you want to pursue a career in finance?
I believe that quantitative finance is the key to make critical breakthroughs in the finance industry, which genuinely thrills me. I enjoy working in a challenging environment that allows me to tackle ever-changing markets and implement my ideas through programming and problem-solving skills.
What makes you unique?
Having seventeen years of training in piano, in conjunction with ten years of experience in solving Rubik’s cube, gives me a great advantage when approaching challenging problems in a fast-paced work environment. I draw on both hobbies to solve problems. Piano taught me how to be creative and playing Rubik’s cube showed me how to address problems efficiently and logically.