News

Bright (Orison) Alorwoyie is a business and market research analyst in Ghana who graduated from WorldQuant University with a Master of Science in Financial Engineering in fall 2025. Here are excerpts from an essay he wrote about his experience:

“Two years ago, I made a decision that would test every limit I thought I had. I enrolled in WorldQuant University’s Master of Science in Financial Engineering program while working full-time.

What followed was 24 months of 2 a.m. problem sets, sacrificed weekends, and more coffee than I’d like to admit. Balancing tight deadlines at work with complex coursework in stochastic calculus, machine learning, and derivatives pricing sometimes felt impossible. But today, I graduated with a cumulative GPA of 94% (4.0 equivalent).

My capstone project analyzed daily price integration between crude oil and refined products across the United States, Nigeria, and North Sea markets using ARIMA and cointegration models. It brought together econometric modeling, time series analysis, and real-world financial applications. Challenging, exhausting, and absolutely worth it.

And here's the twist: While navigating this demanding program, I was named first runner-up for the MRII Emerging Markets Award (Africa/Middle East region). A special thanks to Ed Keller for sharing this opportunity with me. Thanks to OvationMR’s generosity, I earned a sponsored spot in the Market Research Design and Data Identification course at the University of Georgia, which I completed alongside my master's degree.

None of this happened alone. I’m deeply grateful to professor Ken Abbott, my research supervisor, Kasarah Kaushal, for patiently helping me through every technical roadblock, Dr. Gabriella Maiello, and the entire WQU team for providing a platform to learn invaluable skills. … Your milestones matter, no matter how small. Don’t wait for the perfect moment to celebrate, and don’t stay silent when your story might be what someone else needs to hear.

These credentials aren't finish lines; they are foundations. The person who started this journey two years ago is not the same person writing this post. That growth is the real achievement. Keep going. Your breakthrough is closer than you think.”

Read Bright’s full post on LinkedIn.