Dear UCD Math Students:
By Hideya Komori
Corporate Banking Division
Deutsche Bank, Tokyo Branch
It is a real pleasure for me to write this letter to you as a graduate from the Math Department
of UC Davis. I graduated from Davis in Sept. 1993 with a double major - Applied
Mathematics and Economics and I am currently working at the Tokyo branch of Deutsche
Bank, one of the highest ranked banks in the world. I am now assigned to the Corporate
Banking Division, where we are actively engaged in the corporate financing as well as in
the intensive credit analysis of our client companies. Our activities range from simple
lending to complex structured finance. All my thanks to UCD, which opened up this door
for me.
Memories of Davis
Whenever I think of Davis, I always remember those days when I would constantly
struggle with numbers and funny formulas sprung up from Karr Hall Residents (our
beloved professors!). I thank them all for the tough but very rewarding student life they
offer at Davis.
Math Blues
To be honest, looking back to those days when I was a math student at Davis, I have to
admit that more than once I regretted majoring in math. It was definitely not an easy major
and I was not the most brilliant student. Oh, I do not know how many of those sleepless
nights I spent with the homework and take-home-exams (special thanks to Brad Giles for
being then in my company) only to end up with lots of C's after all. Also I often felt like
"what is the point of playing with these numbers? It won't be of any use in the real world!
On top of it, these math grades hurt my GPA like hell!".
Never-ever Underestimate It
Well, if you feel the same way as I did, never under estimate the value of the math degree
you will get. I know that feeling very well but, still, stick to your studies for your future's
sake. The value of a math degree is much more appreciated than most of the other majors
and far better than you could expect it to be.
A Diploma which Sounds Great
Here I would like to clarify the employer's point of view: what they care about when hiring
new math graduates is not what kind of math formulas they know (even if it might help
somehow in some way or other) but whether or not you have the ability of processing the
mathematical logic. In the real world, you will face a lot of different challenges and you
have to quickly reach the logical solution which suits best for each case. How can you
prove that you have a logical mind? The answer is by showing the math diploma you got in
Davis: The employers really do pay a good attention to that. Also some of the non-math
kind are simply scared of the name "math."
Use it!
So, please know how valuable the education you are getting from the Karr Hall is and
complete your math studies at Davis: it will definitely be a strong door opener for your
future career. I know this from my own experience.
Lastly, I hope that I will meet you in the real challenging world once you have completed
your studies at UCD, and that together, we will show the excellence of the UCD math
graduates. And, let me tell you all: we can make it happen and we will!