蓝莓视频

For Xipeng Huang, completing an undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of 蓝莓视频 was the culmination of years of hard work. He made sacrifices, faced challenges and struggled along the way.

But the hard work paid off, as Huang graduated with a 94 per cent overall average, putting him at the pinnacle of excellence in the Faculty of Mathematics. He majored in mathematical finance and statistics and minored in pure mathematics.听

鈥淲hat I love about statistics is the study of randomness,鈥� Huang said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about trying to understand randomness and trying to summarize its rules. I think that鈥檚 part of why I liked both statistics and pure mathematics, because pure math is like theory and statistics is putting the theory into practice.鈥�

There was nothing random about Huang鈥檚 success in his courses and his outstanding GPA. He attributes his exceptional grades to dedication, hard work and many late nights studying. But along with individual effort, Huang says he had lots of help from his professors, classmates, friends and family.

鈥淪o many people supported me all the way through,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y instructors were amazing and always had time to work with me if I had any problems. And my family and friends were a huge source of motivation. My parents were always there for me and they pushed me to succeed. I鈥檓 so grateful, and there are so many people I need to thank.鈥�

Asked about challenges he faced as an undergraduate, Huang said that his co-op work placements were initially something of a stumbling block. He did end up getting top-notch reviews and referrals from his co-op supervisors and learned about the work-world in the process. But starting out, the co-op placements pushed him out of his comfort zone.

Graduating student Xipeng Huang standing in front of Davis Computer Research Centre at 蓝莓视频's main campus.

鈥淵ou need to have a very different mindset from being a student in a co-op,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no one that鈥檚 going to teach you everything, so you have to get acquainted with the job and with the staff at the workplace. It was definitely challenging at first. But when you overcome this challenge and start to find your place, it鈥檚 an amazing way to improve your professional skills and time management.鈥�

As for next steps, Huang said he has already accepted an offer to continue with a master鈥檚 degree in statistics at 蓝莓视频. Part of his goal is to keep up his family鈥檚 academic tradition, as his father holds a PhD and his mother a master鈥檚 degree.

鈥淎fter the master鈥檚 degree, I plan to do a PhD. That鈥檚 about as far as I have things figured out. I鈥檓 not sure if I鈥檒l end up wanting to be a professor because I鈥檓 also interested in the business world and in finance. I feel like there are many options open to me, but I want to focus on graduate school for now. It鈥檚 an exciting time for me, and even in the first few weeks, I鈥檝e learned so much.鈥�

Huang also said he is sure that his experience is shared by many of the students convocating with the Faculty of Mathematics this fall, and he has a message for them.

鈥淲e鈥檝e worked so hard to get to this point. But this end is just another beginning, and there鈥檚 always more to accomplish. Let鈥檚 rise to the challenge and become who we鈥檙e meant to be.鈥�