Economics alumnus, Matthew Ma, is a recent graduate of U of T Scarborough having completed his Honours Bachelor of Science Degree, with a dual Major in Economics for Management Studies and Statistics.  While completing his studies, he undoubtedly made his mark as an outstanding student and aspiring businessman.  The Department of Management is proud to call him one of its alumni members.

Most recently, Matthew was a recipient of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, after being nominated by his professors and the Department of Management.  He will be completing his Master of Financial Economics (MFE), a joint program between the Department of Economics and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.  After completing his graduate studies, Matthew hopes to get into investment banking or investment management.  He also hopes to teach and research on the concurrently, since he has always been an “academic at heart.”

In a broad sense, when asked why he chose to major in Economics, Matthew responded, “Economics keeps it real, because it bypasses many biases and gets to the heart of many important economic and societal issues.”  He also adds that in his Economics classes he especially enjoyed the “ability to apply economic models and thinking into problem solving for real-world situations.”  He acknowledges the significant role his professional and experienced Economics faculty members played in teaching him a new way of logical thinking, which was not only beneficial in his Economics classes, but other subjects as well.

While attending the U of T Scarborough, Matthew was dedicated to being a well-rounded student, maintaining high academic marks while also greatly involved in extracurricular associations and activities.  With a passion for personal finance and investment, in 2007, he co-founded the Investment Society, a student association dedicated to providing personal investment, finance, and career knowledge to students through seminars, workshops and networking opportunities.  Fulfilling the role of Executive Advisor during the 2007/08 academic year, he was instrumental in providing leadership and advice to the executives of the organization in the areas of operations and development strategies.

During this same time Matthew was also the Vice President of Internal Relations of the University of Toronto Scarborough China Conference, a student association dedicated to providing knowledge and discussion of issues concerning China’s recent and future developments.  In this role, he was primarily responsible for the promotion and top-level organization of the conference that was held on March 15, 2008.  In addition to fulfilling those roles, and studying, Matthew was also the teaching assistant for ECMA04, the first year Microeconomics course at the Scarborough campus.

Over the years, Matthew has shown that he is well-deserving of recognition and admiration.  After experiencing unfortunate personal issues negatively affecting his academics during his first two years of University, Matthew returned in 2005 with determination and dedication.  He showed that no matter how difficult the circumstance, it is still possible to pull through.  Due to his hard work, he was able to raise his GPA to strong 4.0 during his 2006/07 academic year.

While at the Scarborough campus, Matthew was the recipient of the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Scholars Award in 2007 and the Honours Award for his 2nd, 3rd and 4th years.  

Matthew’s advice to first-year students is to “study hard first, then play hard.”  He also recommends going to your professors and TAs for extra help, because they are the best resources and most likely more then willing to help.

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