Alumni Perspectives

Studying in the U.S. with career ambitions in Europe

It was important for me to find an internship in Europe because that is where I want to work. In preparation, the MFE Career Management Team supported me with refining my CV and mock interviews. 

In my internship, I helped improve cross-sectional equity forecasting models, focused on building robust feature-target relationships.. Engineering and research collaborated closely, creating a dynamic work environment.  

My work will be meaningful if I can support making the markets I work in more efficient. The U.S. markets work with less friction than the European markets and I would like to be part of changing that.

An open mind supports exploration

At 17, I had a long-term life plan. Not anymore. Now, I realize the value of an open mind and trying different things. I enjoy both data and programming, but I hadn’t really found my passion until I was exposed to finance.

Financial engineering in the equity space lets you work with lots of data. I love digging through the noise from public market data to find quality signals, it’s like solving a constantly changing puzzle. 

In addition to math and programming, intuition plays a big role in financial engineering. In our classes and projects, and today on my job, we were always encouraged to ask, why.

Finding value in diversity and school spirit

Growing up on a farm in Belgium and going to school there, life and school were structured. One of the good things about the MFE program and Berkeley is how much we were able to explore and be creative in our thinking. 

I appreciate the diversity in our classrooms. We had different working styles, yet we made sure everyone was heard. That kind of inclusivity is a learned skill, and it is valued at Berkeley Haas. 

I hadn’t realized how genuine school spirit is in the U.S. It wasn’t unusual to see a marching band coming toward you on campus. It was also a lot of fun to catch some basketball games and cheer our team on with the whole stadium. 

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