Scholars

The IRUA Scholars Committee recently invited interns and recent graduated employees of IRUA member companies to participate in its Annual Scholars Essay Program. Participants submitted a 3,000-4,000 word white paper on an industry-relevant topic of their choosing, with the winning entries earning monetary prizes to help offset their education expenses. Below are the our 2024 Scholars Essay Program Winners and a link to their papers.

2024 Scholars Essay Program - Winning Papers

First Place - Reilly Melvin (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), who interned at Arch Re, was the First Place winner with their paper entitled: The California Insurance Crisis.

Second Place - Nick Siracuse, who is a first-year, full-time employee at Guy Carpenter hired in August 2024, took Second Place for his paper entitled: PFAS: The Next Asbestos or The Boogeyman? 

Third Place - Rylie Martin (University of Iowa)  who interned at Guy Carpenter took Third Place for their paper entitled: Secondary Perils Become Primary Concerns 

Honorable Mention – Allison Degree (Fairfield university) who interned at PartnerRe was awarded Honorable Mention for her paper entitled: Escaping PFAS: The Impossible Dream

Congratulations to all our winners!
 

2023 Scholars Essay Program – Winning Papers

First Place: Jeffrey Sergio (Vassar College), who interned at Odyssey Re, was the First Place winner with his paper entitled: Defining and Pricing Systematic Cyber Events.

Second Place: Emma Kendall (Rutgers University, New Brunswick), who interned at Arch Re, took Second Place for her paper entitled: Social Inflation: Is the Industry Ready?

Third Place: Matt Ricciardelli (Boston College), who interned at Arch Re, took Third Place with his paper entitled: The Future of Crypto Insurance.

Honorable Mention: Michael Taylor (Binghamton University), who interned at TransRe, was awarded Honorable Mention for his essay entitled: Beyond Conventional Coverage: The Power and Potential of Parametric Insurance.

Honorable Mention: Daigeona Guinn (Faulkner University), who interned at Arch Re, also received Honorable Mention for her paper entitled: Navigating Challenges and Triumphs: Black Professionals in Insurance.

Thanks to the generosity of our members, a total of $15,500 was distributed to these awardees among our largest pool of participants in a number of years.

For more information regarding the Scholars Program or becoming a member of the IRUA, please contact Jerry Wallis, IRUA Executive Director, at jwallis@irua.org

Please note that the specifics of the Scholars Program are subject to change at any time by either the Scholars Committee or the Board of Directors.