Gamma Iota Sigma Alumni Newsletter - Illinois State 2017...Gamma Iota Sigma Alumni Newsletter Gamma...

Gamma Iota Sigma

Alumni Newsletter

Gamma Iota Sigma

Alpha Kappa Chapter

Spring 2017

2016-2017 Officers

Nick Mullinax (President)

Bri Allen (VP– Student Affairs)

Judy Cheng (VP– Internal Affairs)

Matt Dubiel (Secretary)

Sean Fitzgerald (Treasurer)

Marie Bedoun (Director of Alumni)

Emily Tomaszewski (Director of Publicity)

Lauryn Appelbaum (Director of Volunteer)

Ethan Witting (Director of Recruiting)

Vlada Gudzenko (Director of Professional

Development)

Michael Cappel (Director of Outreach)

Aaron Puntriano (Actuarial Liaison)

Rebekah Verbeke (Historian)

Debbie Babcock (Advisor)

Dr. Yu-Luen Ma (Advisor)

Overview / Officers 1 RIMS NAPSLO Symposium 2 International Interns 4 Spotlight 5 2017 Graduating 6 Officers Alumni Photos 7-26

Table of Contents:

Throughout this Spring, Gamma Iota Sigma‘s Al-pha Kappa Chapter had an outstanding semester filled with community service, professional growth, and industry learning. The chapter partic-ipated in events such as the NAPSLO Symposium, RIMS Conference, and a variety of industry pan-els. As a chapter, we would like to thank all alum-ni who returned to campus for Gamma Games and a variety of other events. If you are interested in getting more involved with the Alpha Kappa or would like to participate in the Gamma Alumni Council, please do not hesitate to reach out!

During the week of April 22nd –26th, the Katie School sent 12 students to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the annu-

al RIMS conference. These students interacted with industry leaders and other students from around the country.

With approximately 10,000 attendees, students had an outstanding opportunity to network. Along with networking

event, students participated in educational sessions, heard from industry executives, shadowed client meetings,

and explored the great city of Philadelphia. Overall, the RIMS conference gave students a taste of what it is like to

work within the industry and learn about emerging risks around the world.

2017 RIMS Conference in Philadelphia

At RIMS with Vincent Vandendael, Chief Commercial

Officer for Lloyd’s

Gamma Iota Sigma Alumni Newsletter

The 14th Extreme Risk Takers NAPSLO Symposium was held in Chicago and hosted by the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation, the Alpha Kappa Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma, and the Katie School of Insurance at Illinois State University throughout the weekend of March 31st-April 2nd.

This year there were over 150 students in attendance from over 22 universities and colleges. The week-end began with a career fair that incorporated 13 companies from around the Chicagoland area. Follow-ing the career fair, students had the opportunity to sit in on seven educational sessions that ranged from Underwriting in the Surplus Lines Market to The World of Biomed and Life Sciences Insurance. Through-out each session students were given the chance to interact with the professionals and ask questions.

The Symposium also enabled students to network with one another during events such as bowling at Lucky Strike and having dinner at RB Grille. The Alpha Kappa chapter would like to extend a special thank you to NAPSLO and the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation for the support to offer this Sym-posium to future industry leaders.

14th Annual NAPSLO Symposium

Katie School students hosting the NAPSLO Symposium in

Chicago for over 150 RMI students from the U.S. and Canada

Front: Rebekah Verbeke, Marie Bedoun, and Maggie Flynn

Back: Bri Allen, Libby Schrishuhn and Emily Tomaszewski


Throughout this past semester, the Alpha Kappa has been hard at work giving back to the Bloomington-Normal Com-munity. The chapter was able to accomplish over seven volunteer events, including work at the Midwest Food Bank, the Polar Plunge, a blood drive, a clothes drive, work with Home Sweet Home Ministries, and blanket making. The Alpha Kappa chapter was made three blankets for chil-dren and raised money for the Polar Plunge. The chapter was also recognized as the Outstanding Service / Volun-teer Organization by the College of Business this semester.

Volunteering with the Alpha Kappa Chapter

The Annual Katie School Symposium was held on Thurs-day, April 13th at the Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. This year the following topics were discussed:

• An Industry Overview: The Big Picture • Cyber Risks & Exposures • The Changing Economy and Consumer Behavior • Virtual Reality Claims Demonstration • Drone Insurance • Autonomous Vehicles / P&C Lessons of the Affordable

Care Act Many students and industry professionals gave expansive presentations and allowing a mix of professionals and stu-dent audience members to inquire about the changing landscape of insurance.

Katie School Symposium

This year’s 9th Annual Gamma Games took place on Friday, April 7th in the Bowling and Bil-liards center. Many students were paired with alumni to par-ticipate in competitive rounds of minute-to-win-it games.

Following the games, a round of intense GIS Jeopardy was held, which focused on the insurance industry, pop culture, and Gam-ma Iota Sigma trivia questions. This event was coordinated by the Alpha Kappa chapter’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Bri Allen. A special thank you to all of the alumni that came out to participate!

9th Annual Gamma Games


Meet the 2017-2018 Executive Board

President-Nick Mullinax

VP of Internal Affairs-Maggie Flynn

VP of Student Affairs-Lauryn Appelbaum

Treasurer-Aaron Puntriano

Secretary-Dean Johnson

Director of Recruiting-Sean Fitzgerald

Director of Outreach-Peyton Ferrara

Director of Professional Development-Sara Ploch

Director of Publicity-Libby Schrishuhn

Director of Volunteer Efforts-Morgan Loy

Director of Alumni Affairs-Caitlyn LoCascio

Historian-Royal Charles

Actuarial Liaison-Kelsie Klingenberg

2017 International Interns

The Katie School of Insurance is excited to an-

nounce the 2017 International Interns. This sum-

mer, six excellent students will have a one in a

lifetime experience in a global insurance market-

place. Nick Mullinax & Maggie Flynn will be in

London, England; Royal Charles & Sean Fitzgerald

will be in Zurich, Switzerland; and Morgan Loy &

Libby Schrishuhn will be in Bermuda. They are all

very excited to be selected and look forward to

an amazing experience. These experiences will

be shared in the Fall 2017 Newsletter.

Annual Etiquette Dinner

PLRB Conference

Jake Michalski, Mike Gerhard, Nick Eash, and

Royal Charles


Maggie Flynn

Maggie is a junior Risk Management & Insurance and Finance double major at Illinois State Universi-

ty. Throughout her college career she has helped develop a new student organization, Women in

Business.

When Maggie isn’t working hard in the classroom, she also enjoys participating in Alpha Kappa Psi,

Business Week, and Gamma Iota Sigma. As next year’s Vice President of Internal Affairs for Gamma,

Maggie will be working diligently to make the Alpha Kappa chapter even more of a success.

Currently Maggie has an internship as a Loan Officer’s Assistant at Busey Bank. This coming summer

she will have the opportunity to travel to London as a Katie School international intern, where she

will learn more about Lloyds of London and the insurance industry as a whole. Following her trip abroad, Maggie will spend the re-

mainder of her summer interning with Lockton in Kansas City.

When asked what Maggie enjoys most about Gamma Iota Sigma she said, “I believe that it is a great way for students to gain industry

knowledge while still in the classroom. It allows us to learn and have fun at the same time!” In her spare time, Maggie enjoys spending

time with family and friends, working out, and volunteering.

Sarah Turek

Sarah graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors from Illinois State University in 2012 with a BS in Insur-

ance. Originally starting at Loyola University of Chicago, Sarah transferred to ISU to pursue her interest in

studying Insurance at the Katie School. Sarah joined Gamma Iota Sigma, quickly becoming an active mem-

ber by being elected to the Executive Board as Treasurer her senior year. When not being the “insurance

nerd” she proudly claims to be, Sarah spent her time as a member of the ISU Wesley Foundation. In this

group, she acted as a Co-Director of Social Events and volunteered at Habitat for Humanity as part of mis-

sion trips.

Upon graduation, Sarah began working as a Casualty Facultative Underwriter at General Reinsurance in Chicago. Sarah’s primary re-

sponsibilities were to market and underwrite individual account business. Within a couple of years, Sarah served as the Regional Seg-

mentation Manager for the North Central Region, managed the Wisconsin and Indiana territories, and participated as an active mem-

ber for the Illinois, Minnesota, and Dakota territories. Throughout this time, she found an interest in “bundling” business, which al-

lowed her to become a key producer in writing Program business. After four years in the Casualty Facultative department, Sarah

moved to the Treaty department in August 2016 as a Treaty Specialty Acceptance Underwriter. Her energy and dedication enabled her

to quickly transition into her role. After six months in this role, Sarah was promoted to Assistant Vice President and took on the addi-

tional responsibility of underwriting Cyber Liability.

When asked about the Katie School and the influence it made on her life, Sarah said as follows, “If it weren’t for the Katie School, I

would not have attended the Gamma Iota SIgma-sponsored ‘Company Visit’ in Fall 2010. This is where I first was introduced to Gen Re,

and without this I would not have had the opportunity to interview with Patrick Carroll and Jeremy Gallico of Gen Re the following

year. This Katie School event and career impacting introduction, not to mention the strong knowledge base and peer network I ac-

quired throughout the years, makes me indebted to the ISU Katie School of Insurance. Transferring to ISU to major in Insurance was

one of the most influential decisions of my life. It was definitely the right decision.”

Spotlight


Send updates to:

[email protected]

2017 Graduating Gamma Officers

Briana Allen

Willis

Marie Bedoun

Willis

Judy Cheng

Pinnacle Actuarial Resources

Matt Dubiel

Starr

Vlada Gudzenko COUN-

TRY Financial

Emily Tomaszewski

Lockton

Rebekah Verbeke

BITCO

Ethan Witting

Gen Star

Above: Sean Fitzgerald, Eric Mutch, Jeremy Galli-

co, Nick Mullinax and Royal Charles

Above: Mike Paradiso on far left

Above: Kevin Fry and Derek Dudgeon

Katie Alumni Speaking on Campus


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Above: Kevin Conner

Above: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dani Engelke,

and James Peachey

Above: Anna Milliken

Above: Jen Gill

Katie Alumni at the ISU Career Fair


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[email protected]

Above: Patrick Doyle and Marcie Stephan

Above: James Peachey and Michael Delzoppo

Above: Matt Gullickson and Andy Vuong

Above: Bill Jones, Stephanie Hitchins,

and Sam Matthis

IICF Trivia for Charity


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[email protected]

Above: Andy Vuong and Chris Craveiro

Above: Marcie Stephan, Kyle Powal and Ashley Rieger

Above : Marcie Stephan and Tom Mullins

IICF Trivia for Charity


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[email protected]

Above Front: Jon Perry, Stefani Arapidis, Courtney Guzzino, , Anna Milliken and Claire Hemmele

Above Back: Steven Sweeney, Jennifer DeSmedt, Thomas Klingner and Jean Celestin

Gamma Games


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[email protected]

Above: A Strong Wind Blows for Stefani Arapidis

Above: Libby Schrishuhn, Jean Celestin,

Morgan Loy and Jon Stelter

Gamma Games

Above: Cherie Taylor, Amy Gibson,

Kristen Marshall and Anna Milliken


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Above: Jamie Piatek, Justin Walker, Derrick

Duzan and Claire Hemmele

Above: Maggie Flynn, Nate Horrie, Vasya

Semonov, Jon Perry and Trevor Smith

Gamma Games

Handstands are one of many talents of

Jean Celestin!


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[email protected]

Above: Michael Dirkes covers

Kelsie Klingenberg in the TP wrap.

Above: Steven Sweeney, Royal Charles, Kelsie

Klingenberg, Hannah Crawley and Michael Dirkes

Gamma Games

Above: Ian Mayster, Erica Braun, Caitlyn

LoCascio, and Thomas Klingner


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Above: Bethany Gildesmister, Courtney Guzzino,

Zack Lew, Peyton Ferrara and Evan Young

Above: Ethan Witting and Steven Sweeney

in the Oreo Toss.

Gamma Games

Above: Jennifer DeSmedt, Sara Ploch,

and Stefani Arapidis


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Above: Steve Naylor, Jean Celestin, Tyler Hall,

and Nick Denny at Chubb

Above: Chris Hubbard, Dan Hibbs, Katie Daley,

and Patrick Henning at Aon

Above: Courtney Lamar at Aon

Above: Mike Liedke and Javier Zavala at SCOR Re

Katie Alumni at Work


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[email protected]

Above: Mike Liedke and Nick Nudo at SCOR Re

Above: Nick Borus, Jean Celestin, Ben Tiffany,

Faye Callahan, Ashley Rieger, Kevin Kostyk, and

Rob Peachey at Chubb

Above: Nick Denny at Chubb

Katie Alumni at Work


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Above: Brett Glaser, Sarah Lin, and Tom Mullins

Above: Tom Mullins, Dan Fuld, Brett Glaser and Jim Bowen

Above: Tanner Schultz, Maggie Flynn,

and Peyton Ferrara

NAPSLO Symposium

Above: Nick Mullinax, Dana Thomas,

and Ethan Witting


Send updates to:

[email protected]

NAPSLO Symposium


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Katie School alumni are forever giving back in many ways to the Katie School and Illinois State University as was evidenced

at the 2017 NAPSLO Symposium in Chicago in late March.

Jim Bowen (04), Dan Fuld (12), Brett Glaser (13) and Tom Mullins (10) each volunteered their time and expertise by talking

with more than 150 RMI students from around the U.S. and Canada as they shared their work experiences in the E&S

world.

What prompted you to participate in the NAPSLO Symposium?

Brett Glaser, Property Underwriter at Gen Star “I enjoyed attending the conference when I was a

student and meeting other students who may be my clients or colleagues one day. As a senior who

had already accepted a job with a surplus lines insurer, the NAPSLO conference just further solidi-

fied that I had chosen the right career path. I greatly enjoy speaking to students about the surplus

lines marketplace and the opportunities that exist within it. I was excited and honored to come

back and participate as an alumnus. “

Jim Bowen, Director of Risk Management for US Foods “I was excited to engage with students

who have genuine career interests in the industry. I was fortunate enough to attend several similar

programs during my time with the Katie School and gained a lot from the experience. It was a

great opportunity to meet with students and other industry professionals and make some new con-

nections.

Tom Mullins, Senior Vice President of Binding Authorities for RT Specialty “NAPSLO provided me

with a wealth of resources that I used to launch my career out of college and gave me the confi-

dence to work quickly to get to where I wanted to be at a young age. Having the opportunity to

share my experiences is just a small way for me to return the favor and to demonstrate how im-

portant it is to take symposiums seriously!”

Dan Fuld, Senior Underwriter, Life Sciences for Markel ” I was fortunate to have the opportunity

to attend the NAPSLO Symposium as a student of the Katie School of Insurance. It was this sympo-

sium that led me towards the E&S market place.“

What do you hope for students to gain from your participation?

Brett Glaser

“I hope during our panel that students can ask informal questions about any concerns they may

have entering their career or advice they may wish to seek out. I hope they gain a better under-

standing of how to have a smooth transition from college into their career and how to best handle

the pressures and uncertainty that exist as a young professional in our industry. This panel was cer-

tainly one of my favorites as a student and I hope that we can pass along sound knowledge and

advice that has helped us in our careers.”

NAPSLO Symposium


Send updates to:

[email protected]

What do you hope for students to gain from your participation?

Jim Bowen “I hope that my risk management case study was able to give some perspective on how a risk manager sees the world on a day-to-day basis. My goal was to provide tangible examples of the various risks a single organization needs to be able to iden-tify, evaluate and address. When I graduated, becoming a risk manager was not on my radar. My view on career options at the time was to either become a broker, an underwriter or a claims professional. I hope some of the students will see this alternative path and be intrigued by it.”

Tom Mullins “What I hope the students gain from my participation is that this is a great opportunity to absorb information that

wouldn’t be otherwise covered in college classes and to also see the value in networking with their peers. Anyone that looks

around at the Symposium should recognize that these are the people that they will grow up in the industry together.”

Dan Fuld, “I hope that my presentation shed some light on the life science space and demonstrated the unique classes of business

the E&S market place handles.”

What do you like about your role in the risk management and insurance industry?

Brett Glaser “I like my role as a surplus lines underwriter because I'm able to look at unique accounts that have either high risk or

unusual characteristics. I'm then able to find solutions for those accounts by working with my wholesale broker and trying to come

to an agreement on pricing, terms, and conditions for the insured. I enjoy the duality of analytical underwriting and the negotiating

and marketing aspects of the job that exist to in order to sell my company and myself to my clients.“

Jim Bowen “This is going to sound very generic but I truly do enjoy that every day brings new and different challenges. The varie-

ty keeps me energized to always think about new and better ways to problem solve. I like being the go-to person on “risk issues”

and assisting my colleagues to protect and enhance the value of the organization we work for. That said, I enjoy even more being

a team member on various projects that give me exposure to different disciplines I don’t get to work with every day. Working with

our M&A team on potential acquisitions, our real estate group on property risk engineering for a new distribution center we are

building, joining our safety team for a truck rodeo driving competition celebrating our employees. All of these experiences have

been fun, interesting and allowed me to stretch myself into learning new skills.”

Tom Mullins “What I like about my role in the industry is the ability to control my own deals. While I am a broker, I am also re-

sponsible for the underwriting and profitability of each account. Of course, the personal nature of the business is a huge added

benefit too! “

Dan Fuld “As an underwriter, I am able to utilize my analytical skills to deliver creative insurance solutions to my clients. Insur-

ance and risk management is truly rewarding because without insurance and the pooling of risk, we would not be where we are

today.”

How well were you prepared upon leaving ISU?

Brett Glaser “I felt ISU left me very prepared not only due to my great academic experiences in the classroom, but more so

through my involvement in Gamma Iota Sigma and The Katie School of Insurance. I was able to go into interviews and under-stand the relationships that existed between insureds, retail brokers, wholesale brokers, admitted and non-admitted insurers, reinsurers, etc. By having that understanding of the marketplace, it greatly helped me in my interview in attaining the position I have currently.”

NAPSLO Symposium


Send updates to:

[email protected]

How well were you prepared upon leaving ISU?

Jim Bowen ‘My feeling upon graduating from ISU was that I had a significant leg up on the competition. I certainly wasn’t gradu-ating with just a degree in my field of study. I had real world experience via the internship I participated in, relevant coursework completed towards industry designations, and a network of industry professionals through various events we participated .”

Tom Mullins “The RMI major I received at the Katie School not only prepared my skill set as an underwriter but more importantly, it gave me the confidence to believe in my abilities and to hold my own with insurance professionals of all levels. This is an amaz-ing industry for a self-motivated and detail-oriented person to climb the corporate ladder quickly. I do not know another industry segment that could lend itself so quickly to young, talented people!”

Dan Fuld “As I mentioned before, the insurance industry is extremely rewarding. We are in a unique position to enable innovation

and the growth of society. When you ask someone how they “fell” into the industry, it is almost always by mistake. I can say that I

am lucky to have made that “mistake” as a student at Illinois State University, where I was able to benefit from the Katie School of

Insurances RMI program. The Katie Schools program did a wonderful job of teaching the technical side of insurance through struc-

tured curriculum. More importantly, the program teaches students the soft skills that are pertinent and directly correlated to suc-

cess in the industry. The opportunities in this industry are endless and it is at events like these that this becomes evident to stu-

dents.”

What advice do you have for students?

Brett Glaser “. Find a company with a good training program (whether that be a broker or insurance company) that will support

you and give you the tools you need to succeed. Also be patient as a young professional. It is a long career and do not get too far

ahead of yourself. Knowledge, growth in your profession, and advancement take time.”

Jim Bowen “For any fresh out of college professional I like to compare the 4 years spent in college to the 40 years most of us will

spend in our careers. In college, it took 4 years to become the senior who knew everything, earned a degree, found a career and

was ready to take on the world. That pace and rate of achievement needs to be viewed through a longer lens when applied to a

career. Always challenge yourself to keep moving forward and learn new things every day, that will get you to where you want to

be ultimately. However, understanding that you will most likely not become the CEO by age 25 is an important exercise in setting

proper expectations for yourself. None of the above applies if you are Mark Zuckerberg or Evan Spiegel. “

Above: Sean Fitzgerald, Jim Bowen and Marie Bedoun

Above: Tanner Schultz, Maggie Flynn and Peyton Ferrara

Above: Maggie Flynn, Dan Fuld and Nick Mullinax

NAPSLO Symposium


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Above: Lauryn Appelbaum, Sean Fitzgerald, Vlada Gudzenko, Libby Schrishuhn,

Peyton Ferrara, Bri Allen, Augie Augustyniak, Tori Greenfield, Ethan Witting,

Matt Dubiel, Aaron Puntriano, Emily Tomaszewski and Marie Bedoun

Above: Augie Augustyniak providing words of

wisdom to Gamma students.

Above: Tori Greenfield sharing her expertise at

the Gamma Speed Networking event.

RIMS Conference


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[email protected]

Above: Steve Naylor

Above: Drew Hannan, Debbie Babcock and Augie Augustyniak

Above: Toby Petzel

RIMS Conference


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[email protected]

Above: Katie School students with Eric Pan and Jim Bowen.

Above: Katie School students with Augie Augustyniak and Drew Hannan

Above: The big winner of the Bermuda

getaway, Drew Hannan, with the

Premier of Bermuda, Michael Dunkley

RIMS Conference


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Above: Michael Delzoppo and Travis Ahrens at an ALB

luncheon

Above: Shelby Brajewski at a WING luncheon

Above: Frannie Epps and Tori Greenfield at a Chicago

RIMS event

Above: Raymond Hernandez, Matt Dubiel and

Laura Meade at a Chicago RIMS event

Industry Events


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[email protected]

Above: Matt Dubiel, Rob Dunn and Ethan Witting

at the St. Louis RIMS golf outing

Industry Events

Above: Debbie Babcock and Doug Johnson

at an Insurance Supper Club event.


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Above: Patty Grass and Ben Dyer

Katie Alumni Allover

Kevin and Kerri Maess with Henry!

Frank Busch, Dana Thomas and Spencer Richardson

Matt Dubiel, Ethan Witting and Steve Dubiel


Send updates to:

[email protected]

Katie Alumni Allover

Beth and Kevin Conner with Keegan and McKenna

Elizabeth Heeren-Burke and her husband


Send updates to:

[email protected]

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