The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and Society of Actuaries Host First East Coast Be an Actuary Event!

The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and Society of Actuaries (SOA) recently hosted a Be an Actuary Day event in conjunction with Temple University in Philadelphia. Be An Actuary Day is a program developed to expose diverse high school students to the actuarial profession as a career choice by giving them the opportunity to meet actuarial science students and practicing actuaries.

This past program was the first ever Be an Actuary event to be held on the East Coast. It was also the second event to be held in person since having to move to a virtual program due to the pandemic.

Over 150 students from 10 different schools in the Philadelphia area were introduced to the actuarial profession in an interactive, collaborative environment. Over 20 actuarial volunteers along with eight Temple University students worked with the high school students throughout the day. The program kicked off with volunteers sharing their firsthand experiences on what it’s like to be an actuary. The students also had the opportunity to work on problem solving questions that mimic the day-to-day risk scenarios that actuaries solve. The event came to a close after a challenging math game and closing remarks from Temple Actuarial Science Program students and faculty. Resources on organizations such as The Actuarial Foundation, the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA), and the Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA) were made available to students, teachers, and chaperones who attended the event.  

“Running an in-person Be an Actuary Day with the help of the CAS and SOA made for a fantastic experience for us organizers and the high school students and teachers alike,” said Assistant Professor of Practice at Temple University Jeffrey Zhang, FCAS, FCIA. “Seeing 150+ high school students learn why actuarial science matters in the world, engaging in probability and risk concepts, and enjoying some light math competition with their level of energy and enthusiasm was definitely the highlight of the event. The expertise of the CAS and SOA helped ensure that our event went off smoothly without any noticeable issues, and we at Temple will be hosting the event annually to grow the actuarial pipeline as well as broaden our profession to as diverse a group as possible.  Many of the high school students at the event had not heard of actuarial science, so closing the awareness gap for them and their teachers is a key benefit of these events, and more schools should host them.”  

Interested in helping organize your own Be an Actuary event? For more information visit the Be An Actuary Day page on BeAnActuary.org.