Eight university students are recipients of the 2021 CAS Trust Scholarship, an honor created to further students’ interest in the property-casualty actuarial profession and encourage the pursuit of the CAS designations. This year’s awardees are Reiner Atstathi, Olivier Côté, Josh Gordon, Sankar Krishna, Claire Liu, Simon Llaguno, Molly Olander, Ana Romo and Maurice Williams.
$5,000 Recipients
Josh Gordon is a rising junior at the University of Michigan, where he is studying actuarial science and statistics. He worked this summer as an actuarial intern on the commercial auto pricing team at Liberty Mutual. He is also a teaching assistant for the introduction to finance course at Michigan. “I am incredibly grateful to be recognized and awarded with the CAS Trust Scholarship,” said Gordon. “Thank you to my family, mentors, and all others who have shown continued support and guidance as I navigate the early stages of my actuarial career. As I work toward an FCAS designation, I plan to continue learning from peers and mentors in addition to becoming a mentor to other actuarial students.”
Claire Liu is the actuarial club president and an up-and-coming senior at University of Wisconsin–Madison majoring in actuarial science, risk management & insurance and statistics. In the summer of 2020, she was an actuarial analyst intern working on the Medicare Advantage and prescription drugs bid team at Optum/UnitedHealth Group. Liu will be interning at Travelers’ leadership development program working on small commercial business insurance. “A big thank you to the CAS Trust Scholarship Committee for allowing me the honor of receiving this scholarship!” said Liu. “This scholarship will help me finish my college career strong, and I am grateful that the CAS is able to provide this support to students.”
Molly Olander is a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studying actuarial science with minors in mathematics and music. During the summer of 2020, she worked as an actuarial intern at Mutual of Omaha on the financial plan and analysis team. Currently, she is a 2021 intern in the actuarial leadership development program at Travelers on the business insurance actuarial product team. “Being awarded the CAS Trust Scholarship is an immense honor, and I am humbled to be recognized by the selection committee and am ever grateful for those that have supported and believed in me,” said Olander. “I am dedicated to learning, working, and serving, and through the generosity of this award, I am continuing to push to better myself each day on the path towards my future career as an actuary.”
Ana “Cati” Romo is a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is studying actuarial science and business analytics. This past summer, Romo interned at Willis Towers Watson in their retirement consulting department. She serves as co-president of the Penn Actuarial Society and is also involved as a tour guide for the school. “I am so honored to be a recipient of the 2021 CAS Trust Scholarship,” said Romo. “I hope to continue to further my actuarial career and serve as a role model for young Hispanic women interested in actuarial science.”
$2,500 Recipients
A senior at St. John’s University, Reiner Atstathi is studying actuarial science and has completed two internships with BDO USA in their advisory practice and one with Deloitte in consulting. He passed Exam MAS-I in May 2021 and is looking to take Exam MAS-II next year as he returns to BDO for his third internship with the firm. Receiving the CAS Trust Scholarship has been one of the greatest honors of his educational career, and the financial and professional support he has gained as a result has been immense.
Olivier Côté has just completed a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science at Université Laval. He is deepening his knowledge with a master’s in actuarial science at the same school in the fall of 2021. He experienced three diversified and rewarding internships at Desjardins General Insurance Group. Côté was involved with his student club and is currently the coach of his former football team. “I am truly grateful for this award from the CAS. I want to thank my family, girlfriend, teachers, colleagues, and all of my former football coaches who helped on my journey,” said Côté. “I will continue to work hard and give back to my community, hoping that others can enjoy a course full of absorbing challenges, fulfilling encounters and developmental opportunities.”
Sankar Krishna is a first-year graduate student at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) who is pursuing a master’s in mathematics with a specialization in actuarial science. He spent the summer of 2020 interning at Tech Actuarial, focusing on claims analytics and pricing tools for group insurance products. He participated in the CAS Independent Summer Program and Actuarial Data Science workshop at the University. He is a theatre and cricket enthusiast and plays the trombone in the University’s brass band. “I am honored to receive this prestigious international award and grateful to the CAS for their generous contribution towards my professional qualification,” said Krishna. “This award motivates me to pursue actuarial data science with more zeal and make a positive difference to the profession and society. I thank God and express my deep gratitude to my family, friends, the faculty at SSSIHL, and alumni for their constant support.”
A senior at Temple University in Philadelphia, Simon Llaguno is studying actuarial science with a minor in MIS. He spent 2020 interning with Everest Insurance on the actuarial pricing and catastrophe modeling teams. This summer, he worked with Cigna as an actuarial executive development program intern on the seniors reserving team. He is also a CAS Ambassador and served as the director of public relations for Gamma Iota Sigma, Temple’s actuarial science and risk management student organization. “I am grateful to have received this award from the CAS. Thank you to my family, friends, teachers, and mentors for all the support you’ve provided me,” said Llaguno. “I am even more motivated to push myself and excel in my career.”
Maurice Williams, a senior at St. John’s University, is majoring in actuarial science and minoring in data science. He has been working at Ascot Group as an actuarial intern since January 2021 and will continue until year end. Williams recently passed MAS-I and is currently studying for his fifth actuarial science exam. “This award goes a long way in relieving much of my financial burden,” said Williams. “I am truly honored to be given this great recognition by CAS; their generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community that has helped me to get this far in my risk management and insurance journey.”
Contribute to the CAS Trust
The CAS Trust Scholarship program is funded by donations to the CAS Trust, which affords members and others an income tax deduction for contributions of funds used for scholarships and research grants. The CAS Trust was qualified by the Internal Revenue Service in 1979 as a non-profit organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
CAS members are invited to contribute to the Trust; inquiries and contributions should be addressed to CAS’ Chief Financial Officer Todd Rogers at trogers@casact.org.
