Nearly a decade after first stepping foot on the Columbia campus as a School of Professional Studies student, Master of Science in Actuarial Science alumna Claire Li (’15SPS) returned to Lewisohn Hall last month to reflect on her experience and share her motivations around making a generous gift to the program.
The first endowment of its kind to the program, the Claire Li and Conan Gu Fellowship Fund will provide financial support to outstanding graduate students in the program. It also commemorates the 10th anniversary of Claire’s graduation from Columbia SPS, which she says “helped open the door” to career-accelerating opportunities for her in the actuarial industry.
“We are so thankful for Claire’s endowment, which will go towards supporting our brightest students in the pursuit of their dreams, empowering them to achieve their academic and professional goals,” said Actuarial Science Program Director Regina Dolgoarshinnykh. “This remarkable contribution is a testament to Claire’s commitment to education and believing in the potential of our program. We are grateful for this gift and look forward to the positive impact made possible by Claire’s support.”
Claire and her husband, Conan, after whom the Fellowship Fund is jointly named, cited their desire to pay forward the generosity from which they have both benefited during the course of their academic careers as a major contributing factor for establishing this new fellowship.
“We were both international students, and it was a great opportunity to start our professional journey in the States,” Claire said. “We want to repay the help we received.”
(l to r): Regina Dolgoarshinnykh, Actuarial Science Program Director; Claire Li, M.S. in Actuarial Science alumna; and Lina Xu, Actuarial Science Deputy Program Director
From Student to Professional
Born in Beijing, China, Claire immigrated to the U.S. when she was 16 years old and began her postsecondary academic journey at UCLA, graduating with a bachelor of science in mathematics and economics in 2013.
During a summer internship with Shenyin Wanguo Securities in Hong Kong, she met Conan, who was interning in the same building as her. After graduating, the two decided to make the big leap and move to New York City together: Conan to jumpstart his career in finance, and Claire to pursue her master’s degree in Actuarial Science at Columbia SPS.
Claire credits the Actuarial Science program faculty, and in particular Lina Xu—the program’s director during Claire’s tenure as an SPS student, who has recently transitioned to the role of deputy program director after 11 exemplary years—with providing invaluable mentorship both inside and outside the classroom.
Lina encouraged Claire, who considers herself a “naturally introverted” person, to take advantage of as many of the resources that Columbia SPS has to offer as possible, and credits the program for helping her hone her job interview skills and prepare for the notoriously difficult actuarial science exams.
“This program really transitioned me from a student to a professional,” Claire said.
A Life-Changing Opportunity
Following graduation from Columbia SPS, Claire served as an actuarial analyst at AIG, then moved to Prudential Financial, where she rose to the title of director. This month, she starts an exciting new role in insurance regulations at the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Claire says the period of personal and professional transitions the couple experienced in the past few years—including the Covid-19 lockdown, multiple career pivots, and the recent birth of their first child, Cyrilla—gave the couple “a lot of time to reflect on career and life.”
“I went through that phase myself,” Conan added. “We feel like if we could help a kid and maybe change their life too—it just feels like something great to do.”
Investing in the Next Generation
Claire foresees a great deal of change and innovation on the horizon for the actuarial industry—from the rise of AI to the continued impact of programming languages like Python and other emerging technology—along with plenty of opportunity for those interested in entering the field.
She says she hopes the Claire Li and Conan Gu Fellowship Fund will help make the program accessible to a wider pool of students who can leverage the endowment to focus more on their education and less on their financial situation, and open the door to more international students like herself.
“I feel like I'm here now because I attended this program and was able to secure a job afterwards,” she said. “I'm hoping the program can continue supporting students to feel confident in the hiring process, land jobs, and eventually become professionals themselves.”
About the Program
Bolstered by research and faculty from Columbia University's department of statistics and Columbia Engineering School, the M.S. in Actuarial Science program equips students with the tools, skills, and knowledge to excel in today’s rapidly evolving actuarial and related workplaces. Graduates are sought after by insurance, investment and banking, and media and technology companies, among others.
The 36-credit program is ranked No. 1 for the best master's program in Actuarial Science in the United States and is the recipient of the Society of Actuaries Presidential Award, and is available full-time and part-time in person, with select courses available online.
