Undergraduate Honours Thesis

Dalhousie University • September 2023 - April 2024 | Halifax, NS

Thesis: Shifting Macroeconomic Tides: Investigating the Impact of Interest Rate Uncertainty on the Canadian Economy

Supervisor: Christos Ntantamis

• Built Python pipeline to process 15,000+ daily T-bill return observations and developed novel market-based uncertainty metric from return volatility, addressing limitations of survey-based and keyword-frequency proxies
• Implemented six VAR-X econometric models in Gretl and R across different lag structures and sample periods; found statistically significant negative effects on GDP (0.15% decline per SD shock) and investment (0.25% decline per SD shock)
• Improved model R² from 0.19 to 0.28 through integration of EPU and OPU controls; validated uncertainty metric against major macroeconomic shocks (2008 financial crisis, COVID-19)

Bank of Canada Governor's Challenge - Team Lead

Bank of Canada • September 2022 - November 2023 | Halifax, NS

Supervisor: James McNeil

• Led team to runner-up finish among 26 Canadian universities; developed 24-month VAR(2) model analysing CPI decomposition, labour market trends, and inflation expectations to assess monetary policy transmission mechanisms
• Designed risk scenarios integrating household debt stress and energy shocks; synthesised forecasts with Bloomberg Terminal and Statistics Canada data and presented policy recommendations to panel of Bank of Canada economists

Technology Risk Consultant

KPMG • June 2024 - August 2025 | Toronto, ON

• Conducted enterprise risk assessment for a Top 5 Canadian pension fund ($250B+ AUM); findings directly drove enterprise risk framework overhaul and development of new operational risk mitigation strategies
• Developed Python analytics tool to detect access control violations across 100K+ user logs; identified unauthorised privilege escalations and untimely access removals, reducing review time from 3 days to under 3 hours
• Built ETL pipelines feeding Power BI dashboards that visualised risk exposure across 30+ control domains; identified $2M+ in potential operational risk reduction, informing executive remediation priorities

Market Risk and Model Development Associate

TD Securities • April 2023 - August 2023 | Toronto, ON

• Monitored market risk exposure across $2B+ multi-asset portfolios using VaR analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, stress testing, and sensitivity analysis; flagged positions that exceeded risk limits, prompting portfolio rebalancing
• Streamlined data extraction, transformation, and analysis by automating risk reporting workflows in Python and Excel VBA; reduced monthly reporting cycle by 75%, enabling faster response to market volatility
• Validated risk models through back-testing against historical data; detected systematic underestimation of portfolio risk during volatile markets that led to parameter adjustments and model assumption recalibration

Financial Analyst

TD Bank • April 2022 - August 2022 | Dieppe, NB

• Built and maintained financial data pipelines using SQL, Python, and Excel VBA across business units representing $500M+ in annual revenue; designed automated validation frameworks that eliminated manual data verification
• Prepared 15+ quarterly financial statements (P&L, cash flow, MD&A) for executive decision-making; streamlined consolidation process by standardising data templates across 8 business units

Teaching Assistant and Academic Mentor

Dalhousie University • September 2022 - April 2024 | Halifax, NS

• Supported instruction for 250+ students across four courses: Regional Development, Intermediate Microeconomics, Perspectives on Economic Development, History of Economic Thought
• Designed and delivered weekly review sessions on microeconomic theory, welfare economics, and quantitative methods; evaluated assignments, graded exams, and held regular office hours
• Served as academic mentor for mathematics and statistics courses at the Student Success Centre; provided specialised tutoring in Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and Statistics

Founder and President

Albanian Trailblazers • May 2023 - Present | Online

• Founded youth-led NGO providing educational opportunities to Albanian students globally; built cross-functional teams in 20+ countries and scaled organisation to 30+ mentors and 90+ mentees
• Designed and launched various initiatives including professional workshop series, educational podcasts, a monthly magazine celebrating Albanian heritage, and an annual networking summit connecting diaspora students with academic and career resources
• Currently leading the development of Qemal, one of the first Albanian-language LLM chatbots using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) architecture; the project uses vector database and semantic search in Python using LangChain to ground responses in Albanian educational content

Founder and President

Dalhousie Quantitative Finance Society • July 2023 - August 2024 | Halifax, NS

• Established university's first quantitative finance organisation; organised and led workshops covering modern portfolio theory, derivatives pricing models, and algorithmic trading strategies, growing membership to 50+ students within the first semester
• Led quantitative case competition emphasising econometric forecasting, DCF modelling, and risk-adjusted return analysis; facilitated peer-led sessions applying optimisation frameworks to real-world trading and business management scenarios

Programming

Software & Tools

Methods

Languages

Mathematics: ODEs, PDEs, Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Probability & Statistics

Economics: Econometrics, Monetary Policy, Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics

Finance & Business: Corporate Finance, International Finance, Financial Institutions, Portfolio Management

• 2025: Algorithms Specialisation -- Stanford Online verified Show Credential
• 2025: Machine Learning Specialisation -- Stanford Online verified Show Credential
• 2025: MITx 6.00.1x: Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python -- MIT verified Show Credential
• 2024: Undergraduate Certificate in FinTech & Financial Innovation -- Dalhousie University
• 2024: Research Camp Full Program Certificate -- Dalhousie University

• 2024: University Medal in Economics -- Dalhousie Department of Economics
• 2024: Best Economics Research Paper Award -- Dalhousie Department of Economics
• 2024: Douglas C. Mackay Award for Excellence in Money Management -- Dalhousie Faculty of Management
• 2024: Professor W. Russell Maxwell Memorial Scholarship -- Dalhousie Department of Economics
• 2023: Bank of Canada Governor's Challenge Runner-up -- Bank of Canada
• 2023: CFA Institute Scholarship -- Dalhousie Faculty of Management
• 2023: Marjorie F. Ellis Scholarship -- Dalhousie University
• 2022: John E. Betts "Beat Yesterday" Scholarship -- John E. Betts