Completing his MFE enabled Jerry Pan to support Ontario’s healthcare workers and the system they work within. On 6 June, Pan will walk up the aisle of Convocation Hall without sign of injury.
“During COVID, I had a major knee surgery that took 12 hours, followed by a hospital stay with a lot of physio,” Pan said. “I’m very thankful for the Canadian healthcare system because I got the surgery without incurring any cost and they took great care of me. I’m able to return to the sports I love.”
Pan is using his skills and education to support the healthcare workers who took such diligent care of him. In September, he’ll be joining the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, or HOOPP. The organization supports the pension plan and retirements of 475,000 of the province’s healthcare workers.
“I did a co-op with HOOPP during the summer of 2024 and was part of the Capital Markets team,” Pan explained. “My team invested in bonds, CLOs and CDS swaptions, and I helped with analysis and due diligence work. They liked me enough to invite me back for an interview for the rotational program.”
The rotational program is a two-year contract that sees participants placed on three different teams for eight months each. The goal of the contract is to enable entry-level employees to see the financial markets more broadly and decide which team to join permanently.
The MFE program with its emphasis on co-operative work placements allowed Pan to explore interests from his past and start to look toward a future based on his interests in finance and markets. He has always been drawn to professions that help achieve social goals. Finding himself in roles where he supports those professionals has been one source of Pan’s inspiration as he has made his own educational and career choices.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a teacher because I enjoyed teaching and sharing my experiences. Working at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for a co-op term during my undergrad gave me extra motivation to do my job well because I admire teachers so much,” Pan said. “OTPP employs a lot of MFE students, and I got to work with some of them. They were friendly, willing to chat and share experiences, and very knowledgeable and skilled. That experience convinced me to join the MFE program myself. At HOOPP, I discovered the same kind of motivation carried over to healthcare. My girlfriend is also a nurse, so there’s extra motivation to do well and ensure her pension is safe!”
For Pan, the experience of doing an MFE at the Department of Economics was also a lesson in how cycles of supportive care work within learning communities.
First, he experienced the push needed to create a top-tier resume and develop the interview skills required to obtain the work placement at the core of the MFE program. That push came from MFE Assistant Director Jeffrey Ferrer.
“I’m really thankful for all Jeffrey does for not just me, but for the other 30 students in the cohort as well,” Pan said. “He found a way to motivate me, and even though he was super harsh on me at first, I realized he was just trying to push me to do better.”
Then, there was the culture of support his MFE cohort developed.
“Our whole class was rooting for each other, helping each other with courses and interviews,” he said. “The camaraderie we built working together in the basement formed strong bonds. Instead of competing, it’s important to enjoy the process and the schoolwork with your friends and classmates. I truly believe my MFE classmates are friends I’ll keep for the rest of my life.”
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