Qi (Angel) An, Graduate Student
Home University: Nankai University, China
Major: Actuarial Science
Post-Graduation Plans: Actuarial Analyst at AIG
Why Temple University? Temple’s Actuarial Science Program is one of the best in the US. The program connects you to a strong industry network. It fills your schedule with informational interviews with Temple alumni, gives you many chances to talk with a career coach, and provides numerous internship/volunteering opportunities. It’s the ideal place to start a career as an insurance professional.
Temple community: Temple has a very diverse community. If you are a people person, Temple has hundreds of student organizations, clubs and fraternities, and you can always find a good fit to expand your network and practice leadership.
About professors: Temple’s professors are very helpful. They taught me a lot both academically and personally.
Participating in clubs and organizations: During my first semester, I joined the NAAAP Temple (National Association of Asian American Professionals) and became an officer. NAAAP helped my career preparation. Aimed at building leaders, NAAAP provides a friendly and open Asian community. There, I learned how to send out cold emails to build my network, ran the peer mentorship program, and practiced public speaking.
I also served as a director at Gamma Iota Sigma, an actuarial science career development fraternity. We run committee meetings and host guest speaker series and workshops on a weekly basis. This helped me reach industry professionals and see how the real world operates.
Favorite activities in Philadelphia: The Art Museum is my go-to place.
Research completed as a student: If you are into research, Temple offers top research opportunities. I recently did research on predictive modeling applications in actuarial science. This work gives me a competitive advantage.
How being international has enhanced my experience: It takes a lot of effort to get involved with a new culture. You will often find that you bring new and unique perspectives. That’s the biggest strength we have--bringing diversity into the culture. My international identity gives me the courage to speak up and stand out from the crowd.
Career resources: CSPD (the career center within the Fox School of Business) provides many valuable resources. I highly recommend using one of their career coaches. Also, within the Fox School of Business, there are plenty of student professional organizations which cover almost every major. Participating in a student professional organization can sometimes be as important as good classroom performance.
Career plans: During the summer of 2016, I interned for AIG and later joined the company as full-time analyst.