| Financial and insurance literacy program is key to attracting young talent to insurance industry.
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Invest, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, has awarded 11 scholarships to students at Hamburg High School in Hamburg, NY. The program is a key incentive in attracting new talent to an industry that will need more than 400,000 workers in the next five years.
Hamburg H.S. Winners:
- Michael Skora ($5,000 Randy Roth Applied Memorial Scholarship)
- Andrew Paluch ($2,000)
- Ethan Pohlman ($2,000)
- Timmy Stuart ($1,500)
- David Becker ($1,500)
- Nicole Park ($1,000)
- William McGowan ($1,000)
- William Cox ($1,000)
- Lauren Chiacchia ($1,000)
- Christopher Damiani ($1,000)
“We congratulate these students,” says Lindsey Shank, Invest board chair and vice president of McGriff Insurance Services in St. Petersburg, Florida. “Invest develops future industry professionals by teaching high school and college students about insurance, risk management and financial services. As a result, students from more than 890 InVEST programs across the country are better equipped to pursue careers in an agency, company or other insurance industry organization.”
Invest contributes to the education and development of future insurance professionals through academic programs and scholarships. In high schools, the program offers students a business curriculum which teaches the dynamics of insurance agencies and companies. At the college level, the program develops students’ risk management and financial analysis skills.
“A successful Invest program is vital to the financial literacy of our young people, to the future of the independent agency system and to the insurance industry as a whole,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “We are concerned that the average age of an insurance agent is almost 60 and as baby boomers continue retiring in record numbers, the Invest program has the potential to replenish our workforce and to produce the next generation of industry professionals and leaders.”
This year, Invest awarded $53,500 to 37 students pursuing insurance-related degrees. The 2019 scholarship winners represent 15 high schools, colleges and universities in eight states, including: Florida, Maine, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, California and New Hampshire.
Scholarship hopefuls from across the country submitted essays describing the influence of Invest on their educational plans and answered questions about a real-world insurance case study. Invest board member judges selected recipients based on the quality of their essay combined with the applicant's grade-point average and extracurricular activities. Invest mails scholarship checks directly to each student's institute of higher learning and the money will be used exclusively for educational expenses. Scholarships are funded through corporate and direct contributions. |