Introduction

My name is Hoor, and I’m a third-year student in the AFM program. I began my co-op journey in assurance at PwC and recently completed a term on the public equities team at HOOPP. Outside of co-op, I’m involved as a co-chair of the Financial Literacy Club, a vice-president of Waterloo Private Capital, and am currently completing my second term on the Student Investment Fund.

Career Motivation

​My interest in finance started somewhat unexpectedly in high school, during a stock-picking project in my economics class. The analysis was quite rudimentary, but I remember how exciting it felt to track the market and try to understand why some companies performed better than others. When I entered the AFM program, I wasn’t entirely sure whether I wanted to pursue accounting or finance, but joining clubs like Waterloo Private Capital and speaking with upper-year students provided me with a glimpse into the variety of opportunities in finance, which I felt aligned strongly with my skills and interests.
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A major turning point for me came during my first co-op at PwC, where I worked on an audit for a client that had recently gone through an acquisition. I found myself more fascinated by the deal itself than the audit work, especially as I wanted to understand why the acquisition happened and what it meant for the business. This curiosity led me to my next co-op at HOOPP, where I got to dive into public companies and help build investment theses, which made me realize how much I enjoyed thinking like an investor. 

Co-op Reflection

​When I first got into finance, I saw it mostly as a numbers game, where the focus would be on having strong technical abilities. While those skills are definitely important, my perspective has changed a lot since then. Through my co-op experiences, I’ve realized that finance is just as much about understanding the bigger picture (e.g., how businesses operate, what drives a stock’s price up or down) and staying curious throughout the process.​

Advice for Students

​What’s stuck with me the most is how valuable it is to maintain that sense of curiosity. Asking thoughtful questions, taking the initiative to learn more, and being open to new challenges have shaped my experience far more than any single technical skill. Whether I was asking my seniors about why we were modeling a company a certain way or jotting down unfamiliar terms during meetings to look up later, these small moments of curiosity added a lot of depth to my experience and helped me learn far beyond my immediate tasks. Ultimately, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that intellectual vitality can take you far, and not just by helping you grow and stand out, but by also making the work feel more meaningful and fulfilling.