Invest awards $29,500 in academic scholarships

The nonprofit Invest, a classroom-to-career education program for the insurance industry, announced it awarded $29,500 in scholarships to 22 students pursuing insurance-related degrees.

In affiliation with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, Invest works in high school and college classrooms across the U.S. to educate, train, and attract the next generation of insurance professionals.

“Independent agents and brokers shouldn’t leave recruiting to chance. They should be intentional,” Peter van Aartrijk, Invest board member and principal of Aartrijk, told PropertyCasualty360. “They need every generation of workers represented in their firms, especially at sales and service level positions where customers tend to prefer interacting with people plus or minus five years of their age.

“Invest has been building a pipeline of talented recruits, and it’s up to insurance professionals to embrace them, mentor them, and challenge them. The next generation also can reverse-mentor older workers in the agency with knowledge and comfort about new technologies, for example. And, if you’re an owner looking to sell, merge, or partner in the next five to 10 years — as so many are — keeping your talent strong is an excellent way to prepare for the future and create more value.”

Scholarship recipients

To apply for the 200 scholarships, students from around the U.S. submitted essays detailing how Invest influenced their educational plans. The applicants also answered questions about a real-world insurance case study.

Invest board member judges selected recipients based on the quality of their essays as well as their grade-point averages and extracurricular activities. The scholarship checks, which were funded through corporate and direct contributions, will be mailed directly to each student’s institute of higher education to be used for educational expenses.

The 2020 scholarship winners from Florida, New York, California, Ohio, Connecticut and Pennsylvania include:

Invest High School Scholarships:
Kirsten		Clay	Van Wert High School		Ohio
Sarah		Kaufman	Marjory Stoneman Douglas		Fla.
Lauren		McGee	Hamburg High School		N.Y.
John		Haberman	Hamburg High School		N.Y.
Madeline		Ferro	Hamburg High School		N.Y.
Hannah		Levine	Marjory Stoneman Douglas		Fla.
Thomas		Nguyen	William R. Boone High School		Fla.
Jessica		Wainland	Marjory Stoneman Douglas		Fla.
Zachary		Roose	Lake Brantley High School		Fla.
Brian		Kelly	William R. Boone High School		Fla.
Steven		Jordan	William R. Boone High School		Fla.
Rachel		Nattis	Marjory Stoneman Douglas		Fla.
Sydney		Kanner	Hamburg High School		N.Y.
Classroom-to-Career Scholarships:
Christopher		Partridge		Grossmont College	Calif.
Nathan		Linton		Hamburg High School	N.Y.
Second Round Scholarships:
Andrea		Alderman		University of Florida	Fla.
Brayden		Cox		Ohio State University at Lima	Ohio
Da’jua		Quarterman		St. Petersburg College	Fla.
Katherine		Leyonmark		Allegheny College	Penn.
Nishka		Ahuja		Carnegie Mellon University	Penn.
Ryan		Franzese		University of New Haven	Conn.
Thomas		Riffaud		Florida Polytechnic University	Fla.

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• Investing in future surplus lines professionals
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