Maciej Augustyniak has made actuarial mathematics a family affair
Maciej Augustyniak is graduating from the BSc Specialization in Actuarial Mathematics.
This is highly selective program — actuaries can make more money than doctors — and Maciej (pronounced ma-tchi-ej) has a GPA at the A-to-A+ level, and is one of the top five graduates in the class.
Jose Garrido, the Actuarial Program Director, said, “Maciej is extremely articulate, both in English and in French. He shows determination and asks questions about difficult concepts until he is satisfied with his grasp. He is serious and reflective, yet always in good spirits. He is also very polite, a quality that is getting lost.”
Maciej’s brother Jacek graduated from the same program last December, in the Co-op option. Jacek is one and half years older.
“Early on we were always successful in our math classes and in math competitions,” Maciej said. “My math teacher in Grade 11 talked to us about the actuarial profession because she herself entered an actuarial program.
“We found it was probably the best fit for us as it incorporated math skills, business work, good employment opportunities and good salary. In CEGEP, we were decided on that direction and we only applied to the Concordia Actuarial program.
“We are not competitive between each other; rather I would say we are cooperative. In the last summer we were both looking for an internship and had an interview with the same company. We thought it would be interesting to work together, but unfortunately I was only retained for the job. He eventually got another internship somewhere else.”
He is going on to the Université de Montréal to do a master’s degree. Becoming a full-fledged actuary takes another eight years after that. Employers usually provide benefits for employees doing their exams. “However, it does not make the process easy, as one usually has to study 400 hours or more to prepare for an exam.”
Maciej said he really enjoyed his years at Concordia. “Since the actuarial program did not count that many people and often everyone was in the same classes I had the opportunity to make a lot of friends.
“The program gave me a lot of independence and was challenging. As a result I decided to start a new company along with my brothers and two of our friends from the program. We want to do some form of online tutoring in math for high school students.”