International Spotlight: Jean-Tiago Lopes Hamm, Graduate Student in Financial Engineering

Which program/department are you in?

MS Financial Engineering

What is your primary area of study or research?

Quantitative Finance

Which country (or countries) do you come from?

I grew up in the French Alps in a village called Theys, and moved to Grenoble for high school and later on to Paris for college.

How long have you been in the U.S.?

I arrived in New York 4 months ago.

Tell us a bit about your projects/research/studies.

My interest in becoming a quant, or quantitative analyst, originally stemmed from my observation that the most fascinating mathematical models I encountered were finance-related. I then developed a taste for financial derivatives and for machine learning so I looked for Financial Engineering programs with strong concentrations in these fields, which led me to Columbia. I have to say the school has gone above and beyond my expectations. In subjects ranging from stochastic calculus to numerical optimization, professors here always have this gift to captivate you and leave you wanting to know more. The deeper I dive into my classes, the more I realize how much can be done in this field. In particular, I would love to contribute to the research on making future financial models more robust, parameterizable and data-driven.

Tell us about your experience in NYC thus far.

The people here are incredibly friendly and welcoming, it's like nothing I have ever seen anywhere else in the world. I was also amazed by the 24/7 shops, the nightlife, the skyline, Dunkin' Donuts, Mexican food, and mostly people being woke and tackling discrimination in all aspects of social interactions.

What are some challenges about living here?

Resisting spending all my money at Dunkin' Donuts everyday

What do you know now that you wish you knew before coming here?

People here will ask you how you're doing 10 times a day. When you order a drink at Starbucks, when you enter the library, when you get food, buy groceries, ask for information etc. Don't freak out, just answer that you're good and ask them back, then proceed to whatever it is you were going to do.

Connect with Jean-Tiago on Linked In.

Are you (or do you know) an international student, scholar, or alumni?

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