Interest in Finance and Future Academic Aspirations

From my childhood, I liked piecing together jigsaw puzzles. I worked patiently on a puzzle for hours as my excitement was building up as the picture was revealing. Growing as a person, I started with inkling of an idea of what my life would look like and started putting the pieces together. After completing a large section of this puzzle and taking time to appreciate that part, at this stage of my life I plan to move on to another section to continue building a bigger picture. With the encouragement of my parents and senior colleagues, I am determined to expand my knowledge by getting a master’s degree.

The global world of business and finance shifts every day; being so fast-paced, varied, it keeps everyone on their toes. With the disruption of technology, the clients’ wants are becoming more extraordinary, the market is becoming more complex. I believe that obtaining a MSc in Finance degree is a great way to prepare for a changing business environment. The abilities I will develop during the program will give me tools to adapt to the unavoidable change of industries and will also provide me with a platform for the next step in my career.

My interest in finance developed during my undergraduate studies, and this is the time when I started building a framework of my adult life. The qualified faculty of my university determined my taste for this academic field by acting as gatekeepers, welcoming me into an area of knowledge, inspiring to explore different areas of finance. During my studies, I found banking and finance to be the most interesting and intellectually stimulating as I learnt about the role of money in markets, understanding of the way that financial organizations and markets work. I believe that my success during studies lies in the fact that I approached all the classes with enthusiasm and with a due level of responsibility. With such attitude, I managed to graduate from KIMEP University in the top 10% students and received a diploma with honors with overall GPA of 4.25 out of 4.33. I was honored to be on the President’s list and receive scholarships, which covered full tuition of the program.

Apart from gaining theoretical knowledge, I decided to research possibilities in order to locate and land the financial job that has the greatest compatibility with my skills and interests. Recent years that I have spent working at one of the Big 4 companies cemented my interest in finance. I am currently working as a Mergers & Acquisitions associate at PwC. Our team provides full-fledge range of M&A services from acquisitions and disposals, through to equity and debt raising across many industry sectors. Working at PwC exposes me to an exponential learning curve since I learn something new every day and I am constantly presented with new industries and challenges. Moreover, such professional experience taught me to take on large amount of responsibility early in my career. Already in my first year, I had the opportunity to obtain managerial experience by leading the workload of junior team members and find ways to make sure they succeed. Ability to interact directly and independently with the senior management of notable clients, senior government officials provided me with valuable communication and leadership skills. As an intern at PwC, I was already working with large national companies on transactions worth more than 3 billion dollars. After two successful years as an Associate for a one of the leading consulting companies, I can say that I enjoyed a rewarding career, where I progressed quickly and spearheaded major transactions and projects.

The puzzle would have an important piece missing, if I did not mention the experiences that contributed to my personality greatly. Throughout my time in college, I was involved in extracurricular and volunteering activities that helped me to develop skills such as determination to success even when faced with challenges. During the last two years at college, I was a member and later an HR manager of a small finance club consisting of 15 brilliant students. I was responsible for overseeing the overall organization’s performance. I planned and supervised student activities on campus, including philanthropic initiatives, as well as large events for the entire student body. This was the time when I realized that in order to be a good leader, you need to have an ability to create and encourage teamwork in the group of people, who follow you. While being the HR manager of the club I developed my motivational skills and inspired the team members to organize and secure successful implementation of various educational events at the club. Most of my spare time during college years I spent volunteering at a public fund called “Dom Mamy” (The Mother’s house from Russian). The fund’s mission is to prevent young mothers from abandoning their children by ensuring they have moral and financial support to grow a child. All the women at those houses had their own unique stories and each of them needed help. My contribution to the fund involved working closely with the government bodies as our team was helping those women to get education, new jobs and a place to live. I felt like I was a part of something important and had an impact on improving human quality of life. Both leading a club and a long volunteering journey taught me that some things can be challenging and time consuming and may make you feel like it is not worth it. However, if you have initiative, commitment and passion for doing it, you will always achieve success.

Everything in my career is guided by the vision of the completed puzzle. I see myself contributing to the economic development of my country by promoting the growth of small and medium enterprises, creating jobs through the private sector and eventually serve as a voice for the vulnerable members of society. With this goal in mind, I wish to work for an international development and financial organization, like World Bank Group. The intensive MSc in Finance program is the ideal foundation for crossing over to a new competitive industry. The world-class teaching and study facilities of the University of XX would help me to launch a new career path with a solid foundation in how markets work and a comprehensive range of quantitative finance skills, along with applied, problem-solving expertise.

As a foreign student coming from an emerging market and looking for a MSc in Finance degree, I look forward to being part of a global network system, in which I will be able to exchange experience and knowledge with peers worldwide. My relevant work experience coupled with undergraduate academic success will be a good fit for this program’s challenging courses. Working on puzzles helped me gain focus, determination, and patience. By taking it piece by piece, not losing focus, I am planning to pursue my dreams and make the picture complete.