From wanting to be a pilot to a maths ‘magician’
She is busy doing her honours degree this year.
TOP student and old Shangri-La learner, Michaela Fyfe (22), obtained her undergraduate degree in BSc Actuarial and Financial Mathematics Cum Laude on April 29.
She is a student at the University of Pretoria (Tuks) and is completing her honours degree this year.
“For me it is so important to have people in our field of work because people in this field have skills to calculate things that not everyone can do, and that is why I chose it.
“For instance, actuaries can calculate how much you should save for retirement, life insurance and car insurance premiums. They can also calculate how much money insurance companies should keep in order to be able to pay claims, and other complex calculations that help to run companies,” she said.
Michaela matriculated from Shangri-La Academy in 2013 and spread her wings to university in 2014, where she lived in the student residence Nerina until the end of last year.
For Michaela it’s no problem to work out mathematical problems and maths was always her favourite and best subject at school.
“My dream job would be to work at Cadbury, as I love chocolate,” says Michaela laughing. “But more realistically, I would like to work at Ernst and Young or Discovery. Although I have my degree in actuarial science, I am not qualified as an actuary yet, so my ultimate goal would be to qualify first.”
She hopes to have a job at one of the major consulting, life insurance or general insurance companies by next year.
In her spare time, Michaela loves to go for a good run and clear her mind.
“I do Parkrun every Saturday at Modderfontein and I also do some 10km runs during the year when I feel up to it. My goal is to do a 21km race next year.”
Michaela would like to thank her parents, grandparents, family and friends for all their support throughout her university journey.
“They are so supportive with everything I do. I would never have been able to achieve this without them. And I also want to give a big thank you to my high school mathematics teacher, Mr Bloch, who had such a passion for maths that it made me want to pursue a career involving maths.”
