Cacilia Enyan decided to pursue an M.S. in Quantitative Risk Analysis & Management (QRAM) from Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business because the program blends her professional interests.
“If you’re into financial engineering, financial economics, and actuarial science and can't pick just one of them, contingency risk analysis combines all three,” Enyan said.
Initially, Enyan tried to choose between studying financial engineering and financial economics, but the QRAM curriculum felt like the perfect fit. Robinson’s program appealed to her because it offers a broad scope of courses incorporating actuarial services, investment banking, and finance.
Prior to enrolling at Robinson, Enyan was a project finance officer for an oil and gas company in Ghana. The company encouraged her to resign, earn a master’s, and set a plan to gain more experience in the U.S. before returning home.
“It was the best thing HR could ever do for me,” she said.
Moving across the world for graduate school was an adjustment for Enyan.
“My first semester was the toughest because I wasn’t used to the system, or the weather,” she said.
Georgia’s temperatures are quite mild compared to northern states, but the state’s winters felt freezing to Enyan, who is accustomed to an even warmer climate. Although Enyan had to adjust to the U.S. way of life, her field of study clicked from the start.
“My financial engineering course gave me an idea of how the investment world works: how money moves around the world, grows, and depreciates,” she said. “I got a clearer picture of how stocks work,” she said.
Enyan earned a bachelor’s in actuarial science in Ghana and originally intended to pursue an investment banking career. Enyan does not consider herself “IT-inclined,” so she felt apprehensive about her coursework in Python and R. However, the classes’ structure put her at ease. Enyan and her peers started “from scratch,” ensuring they mastered the basics before moving on to hands-on projects. Her instructors offered enthusiastic support whenever needed.
“If I got stuck, I could email the faculty and receive swift feedback because they're excited about helping students learn,” she said. “They went out of their way.”
In addition to technical acumen, Enyan has strengthened her leadership skills. She participated in a six-month series of training sessions offered by Robinson’s Career Advancement Center. As part of the program, she traveled to Chicago to network with representatives from companies like Goldman Sachs, Cushman & Wakefield, and Prologis. The extra effort paid off. Enyan will spend the summer in Chicago as an actuarial intern for Kuvare US Holdings.
“Building connections really works,” Enyan said. “Relationships help you get where you want to go.”
Enyan encourages anyone who is interested in finance but uncertain of which direction to take to consider Robinson’s QRAM program.
“It’s what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said.