Sandra Kagango, winner of National Bank Women in Financial Markets Scholarship

September 06, 2016

Sandra Kagango, Master of Financial Economics studentSandra Kagango is an incoming student in Western University’s Master of Financial Economics (MFE) program. She was recently selected for the prestigious National Bank Women in Financial Markets Scholarship.

The National Bank scholarship is awarded to three recipients each year and is intended to support and increase the number of women working in financial markets. It provides a $10,000 monetary award, a mentorship with a Senior Mentor from National Bank, and an internship with the bank which involves a rotation through different departments and aspects of the business.

Kagango is coming to Western from Trent University, where she graduated with an Honours Degree in Math and a minor in Economics. She specialized in Mathematical Finance.

For Kagango, the MFE program was a perfect fit as it combined her three areas of previous study.

“It is a fairly new program, which I found interesting. I want to be part of something I believe will be a trend setter in the field of financial economics,” said Kagango. “Western is one of the top universities in the country, so it was an easy choice to accept the offer of admission.”

Kagango was also drawn by the internship incorporated into the program, a chance to get experience. While the financial support from the scholarship will help, she is most interested in the rotational aspect of the experience, which will allow her to touch on different departments, giving her a clearer idea of where she may want to focus her career, and help her create links to start a career with the bank or in the industry.

Kagango is thankful to the staff from the MFE program who brought the scholarship to her attention. “They deserve a lot of credit in bringing opportunities to students,” said Kagango. “When you apply to a program, that’s what you hope will happen.”