Beyond the Classroom: The Value of Professional Development and Student Engagement
By Jeffrey Zheng
Expanding Horizons, June 2023
Actuarial science curricula at universities tend to focus on preparing students for academic and professional exams. In this article, I will share the value of student professional development and how it complements the technical skills taught in the classroom, using Temple University as an illustrative case study.
Temple University is a doctoral-granting, public research university situated in urban Philadelphia, with a total enrollment of 33,606 (fall 2022).[1] First-year students enter with an average high school GPA of 3.42, SAT of 1273 and ACT of 28, placing Temple as a selective institution. Actuarial science is housed within the Department of Risk, Actuarial Science, and Legal Studies in the Fox School of Business. Temple actuarial science has over 125 majors and is a designated Center of Actuarial Excellence with the Society of Actuaries’ (SOA’s) University Earned Credit program.[2] The academic curriculum, including electives, prepares students for SOA Exams P, FM, FAM, SRM, PA, ALTAM, ASTAM, all VEEs, and CAS MAS-I, and includes a writing-intensive actuarial practice course.[3]
The actuarial exams process and the Temple curriculum provide a rich conceptual and mathematical foundation for technical actuarial success, so the focus of our student professional organization, the Sigma Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma, is on professional development and career readiness.
Industry Knowledge
Industry knowledge and soft skills represent key considerations for employers when selecting job candidates, and employability is a top priority for students when choosing a university, so it seems natural for actuarial programs to provide such exposure to students.[4] At Temple, our students invite executive-level risk management, insurance and actuarial science speakers on a near-weekly basis as part of the H. Wayne Snider Distinguished Lecturer Series.[5] Separately, we bring in actuarial-specific speakers to provide students with a deeper knowledge of what to expect in typical actuarial projects and day-to-day work. Anshell Boggs, the risk manager for the NBA; Carolyn Renzin, chief risk and compliance officer for Fanduel; John Marchioni, CEO of Selective Insurance; and Michael Roque, CEO of Positive Physicians Insurance Company, were a few examples of our speakers in the 2022 academic year. Diversity in its broadest terms is a top priority when our students build the speaker agenda. A broad exposure to varying industry knowledge not only helps students understand the job market and competency expectations, but it also helps them narrow down their field of interest. Property and casualty, life, health, benefits, reinsurance and consulting all present unique opportunities and challenges and require different competencies and technological skills, despite all being under the actuarial science umbrella. Bringing in speakers of different genders, cultural origins, roles and life paths enables our diverse student body to find role models and see themselves reflected in future leadership roles. These executives often share their career and life experiences, offering students valuable insights into leadership, flexibility and how to stand out from the start of their careers.
Career Preparation
Career planning—including information, career fairs, experiential learning, individual advising, resume preparation and on-campus interviewing—is a major value-add of career service offices within universities.[6] To enhance opportunities beyond the Fox School of Business Center for Student Professional Development, Temple actuarial students undergo our own Road to Resume Book process, run by the Sigma Chapter. This consists of a professional portrait, actuarial-specific interview skills and etiquette workshops, a standardized resume, creation of a Handshake (job search app for students) profile and a mock interview, culminating in an actuarial-specific annual Career Reception. We believe there are nuances specific to the actuarial job search process, such as exams and specific technical and industry expectations, that a broader business school approach does not fully cover. Furthermore, building department-level relationships with employers allows for deeper connections to form, broadens our speaker network and provides opportunities for classroom engagement as well in the form of presenters and volunteer judges for case competitions in the writing capstone courses.
Research has suggested that prior work experience shows the strongest relationship with initial employment, with positive supplemental effects from courses with quantitative analysis and writing, and participation in student organizations.[7] This extra effort has paid off. As of 2021, the insurance industry was the second most frequently placed industry for Temple graduates, even though the number of Risk Management and Actuarial Science majors combined is less than each of the four other majors at Fox.[8]
Professional Networking
Professional networking while one is still a student serves a multitude of roles, from gaining industry insight, mentorship and career advice from working professionals to additional access to job opportunities.[9] To help students build relationships with their peers, alumni and our invited speakers, Temple’s Sigma Chapter organizes a peer-to-peer mentorship program that pairs underclassmen with upperclassmen for course and internship advice, an alumni-student mentorship program and intimate networking luncheons after speaker presentations. We also organize an annual alumni golf outing and occasional alumni happy hours to help maintain a lasting bond.
Soft Skills
Soft skills embody personal traits such as attitude, motivation, adaptability, teamwork and interpersonal communication.[10] Not only do these skills help students excel academically, but employers value soft skills as much as hard business knowledge and work experience. Written communication, oral presentation, interpersonal skills, teamwork, innovation and maturity have been cited by employers as characteristics of highly employable students.[11]
Student officers in the Sigma Chapter can practice written communication through our weekly newsletter, Risky Business, and issue separate press releases after major events or when members accomplish something noteworthy, such as passing exams or winning a case competition. They invite industry speakers such as Annmarie Baribeau, president of Insurance Communicators, to run actuarial communications workshops. Students practice oral presentation skills and how to explain complex concepts simply by teaching new members insurance jargon, current topics and so on through the Young Actuaries and Risk Development Series (YARDS), workshops designed to help new Risk Management and Insurance and Actuarial Science majors network and acclimate into the programs. YARDS also serves as an example of how students showcase entrepreneurial spirit, as the series was completely ideated and implemented by students.
Other lasting contributions from past years include the Lemons to Lemonade series of interviews of how students adjusted to changed and canceled internships due to COVID, and the actuarial science lending library of study manuals to help with equity of opportunity. Planning social events such as our signature Gamma Games field competition, Paint Nights, Trivia Night, Cultural Potluck, Philly baseball outings and the end-of-year Gamma Gala celebration allow students to exercise organizational skills and adaptability when unexpected challenges inevitably arise in the planning and execution process. All these student-run events also require significant teamwork across many officers, giving them ample opportunity to work with people of different personalities and work habits.
Community Service
Giving back to the local community not only improves the livelihood of those served, but it reinforces many of the life skills previously mentioned. Higher levels of civic responsibility, academic learning, cultural appreciation, leadership, teamwork, empathy, networking and improved mental health are just a few of the countless documented benefits of community service.[12] Sigma Chapter students fundraise thousands of dollars each year for their charity of choice, help organize the Broad Street Run, tutor through the Actuarial Foundation’s Math Motivators and perform campus cleanups. They have also helped make elementary school decorations, dog collars for animal shelters and paracord bracelets for veterans. These volunteer events offer students a chance to socialize while generating a positive societal impact.
Alumni Reflections
I surveyed the Temple actuarial science alumni in 2022 on which aspects of professional development were most valuable to their personal and professional careers using a Likert scale from 5 (Very Important) to 1 (Not Important) and asked them to provide comments on their experience. The following list shows the average scores across the seven categories surveyed (𝑛 = 34).
- Career reception – 4.9 / 5.0
- Speakers series – 4.6
- Resume and interview preparation – 4.5
- Mentorship programs – 4.0
- Community service – 3.8
- Social events – 3.8
- Member communication – 3.4
These results show that alumni strongly value the career preparation and industry insights they gained as Sigma Chapter members. The following quote from Kyle Betley (class of 2019) succinctly summarizes the benefits of active professional development beyond the classroom:
Gamma Iota Sigma provided me with the opportunity to expand my knowledge of the insurance industry beyond my classes through engaging speakers and events, allowed me to network with peers in my programs and real industry professionals/alumni, and provided leadership opportunities to help develop essential soft skills as well as allowing me to work with and positively impact many other members. Gamma shaped my college experience and prepared me for a successful career in the industry, leaving me many lifelong friends in the process.
Conclusion
Well-rounded, successful actuarial students should actively engage in and seek professional development experience outside of the hard technical skills they gain from the classroom. Industry expertise, career preparation, networking, socialization and community service not only help students advance professionally and personally, but they also provide many avenues for fun and build lifelong relationships.
Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the editors, or the respective authors’ employers.
Jeffrey Zheng, FCAS, FSA, CPCU, CPA, CFEI, AIDA, is an assistant professor of Practice, associate program director of Actuarial Science and associate faculty advisor of the Sigma Chapter at Temple University. Jeffrey can be reached at jzheng@temple.edu.