Statistics and Actuarial Science Club

Mission: The Statistics and Actuarial Science club offers a platform for students:

• to learn about careers related to being an Actuary, Statistical/Data Analyst, Financial Planner/Analyst, Accountants, etc. and to seek corresponding intern opportunities in each field
• to learn about how Mathematics, Statistics, and Finance knowledge can be used in real-life situations.
• to share and discuss experiences related to professional exam preparation, career preparation, intern opportunities, and others

Activities:

• In the first meeting of each month, the club will invite speakers from (but not limited to) the following fields to share about their careers and how students can effectively prepare to be: 
  • Actuaries
  • Statistical Analysts
  • Certified Financial Analysts (CFA)
  • Certified Public Accountants (CPA)
  • Recent graduates

• In the second meeting of each month, the club will focus on actuarial science exam preparations.  During these meetings, students will share and discuss problem-solving strategies, resources available for professional exams (Exam P or Exam FM), etc.

Club officers for 2022-2023: 

• President: Charlotte Saternos
• Vice President: Hailey Goodwin
• Treasurer: Cole Patton
• Secretary: Kurt Abell

Students who have passed Actuarial Exams:

• Exam P/1: ​ Trevor Wylezik, Charlotte Saternos '22, Collin Levis '22, Robert Koch '18, Bradley Mayer '15, Michael Pol '15
• Exam FM/2: Trevor Wylezik, Charlotte Saternos '22, Collin Levis '22, Robert Koch '18, Ian Haberle '16, Bradley Mayer '15

For more information, contact faculty advisor Dr. Ju Zhou.

2022-2023 Activities:

• Thursday, September 22 at 11:00am in LY120

Tyler Weiss, KU alum and former club president, will discuss his experience at an intern at State Farm and as an Underwriter in Chubb.  He will share some insight on the Insurance Industry and the different career avenues available.  

2021-2022 Activities:

• Thursday, April 21 at 11:00 am on Zoom

Charlotte Saternos is a Math Major minoring in Actuarial Science and currently her goal is to become an actuary.  She has passed two actuarial exams and interned at a local pension consulting firm called Foster & Foster Consulting Actuaries. 

Charlotte will describe the two main roles for an actuary, which are pricing and reserving, as well as some of the methods used on the job. To be more specific, actuaries that work in reserving employ several techniques that she will briefly cover such as the expected loss ratio (ELR) method and the chain-ladder method.  She will also talk about preliminary actuarial exams, her internship at Foster & Foster, and the requirements for an entry-level actuarial position. 

• Wednesday, April 13 at 11:00 am on Zoom

Senior Mathematics Major Collin Levis will share his internship experience.  Throughout the talk, he will include the team he was a part of, the type of work he did, his final presentation, and how the experience benefited him. Other topics will be centered around the actuarial exam process. This mostly includes specifics surrounding exam preparation, study strategies, and what worked best for him. 

• Thursday, March 10 at 11:00 am on Zoom

Shawn M. Caulfield, PSECU University Development Manager, will take a deep dive into the world of credit reports and credit scores. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of credit and learn how credit reporting tools are used in practical situations.  

Shawn has been with PSECU’s University Development program since 2014 and currently has direct oversight of the program’s Central Pennsylvania relationships. Shawn has spent his entire professional career in the financial services industry leading teams in a variety of capacities, with the most recent role prior to joining PSECU being Vice President and Commercial Manager for Harrisburg at M&T Bank.   In his current role at PSECU, Shawn has program development, relationship management, direction and strategy, employee development and membership development as key areas of responsibilities.  Shawn focuses on creating mutually beneficial partnerships between universities and PSECU which are aimed at strengthening the financial foundations of today's students and the campus community. While providing financial tools, resources and education to support those foundations, Shawn looks for ways to create a bond between educational and financial successes.  Shawn earned a Bachelor of Science in Consumer Affairs from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. 

• Thursday, October 21 at 11:00 am on Zoom

KU Math Professor Dr. Myung Soon Song will be the speaker.  Bayes’ Theorem describes the probability of an event, based on prior knowledge of conditions that might be related to the event.  Paradoxical results from the COVID-19 test in different situations will be examined by using Bayes’ Theorem with basic biostatistical concepts including prevalence, sensitivity, and specificity.

Dr. Song received his Ph.D. and MA degrees in Statistics from University of Pittsburgh. He also received his MS degree in Actuarial Science from University of Iowa and his BS degree in Mathematics from Seoul National University. His research interests include, but are not limited to, meta-analysis, multilevel modeling, and optimization.

• Tuesday, September 21 at 11:00 am on Zoom

Do you know that math department has an Actuarial Science Minor program? Do you know anything about actuaria science exams?  Are you interested in taking actuarial science professional exams to prepare for a career in related field?  Do you know it is important and possible for college students to do summer intern and getting working experience before college graduation?  Would you like to learn about the experience from some current KU students?

If you are interested in any of the questions above, you are welcome to join our Statistics and Actuarial Science virtual meeting.

Students Collin Levis and Charlotte Saternos will also share their experiences.

2020-2021 Activities:

• Thursday, April 22 at 11:00 am on Zoom

The Chief Actuary Mr. Sean McAllister from New Jersey Insurance Groups will join us at this meeting. He will discuss his career and some of the problems that actuaries work on to give the students a sense of what property and casualty actuarial work is like.  He will also provide some advice for students considering an actuarial career and will take any questions at the end. 

• Tuesday, March 16 at 11:00 am on Zoom

Ms. Kathleen Earle, will share with us the timeline and requirements for internship opportunities.  Ms. Earle, FSA, MAAA, has worked at Guardian Life Insurance for 13 years in a variety of actuarial roles including Dental and Supplemental Health pricing as well as Life and Long Term Disability valuation. Her current role is Director and Associate Actuary in Underwriting focusing on employer groups with 500+ employees. She also serves as the Chair of Guardian’s Actuarial Student Committee.

• Tuesday, February 22 at 11:00 am on Zoom

Chief Actuary Mr. Sean McAllister from New Jersey Insurance Groups will join us at this meeting. He will discuss his career and some of the problems that actuaries work on to give students a sense of what property and casualty actuarial work is like. He will also provide some advice for students considering an actuarial career and will take questions.

2019-2020 Activities:

• Tuesday, February 18 at 11:00 am in LY 120

Dr. Gary Chao from the KU Department of Business Administration will speak about the Supply Chain Management Program and the job market. 

• Tuesday, November 19 at 11:00 am in LY 120

Presentation by Mrs. Cindy Wlazelek focusing on the preparation for, and development of, a career in actuarial analysis in the insurance industry based on her 34 years at the USAA Insurance Company.

• Tuesday, September 17 at 11:00 am in LY 120

KU Math Professor Dr. Myung Soon Song will discuss type I and type II errors in statistics.  In statistical test theory, the notion of a statistical error is an integral part of hypothesis testing. A Type I error is the rejection of a true null hypothesis (false positive), while a type II error is the failure to reject a false null hypothesis (false negative). These errors will be explained with real-world examples such as sensitivity and specificity problems in biostatistics.

2018-2019 Activities:

• Tuesday, April 16 at 11:00 am in LY 120

Mr. Sean McAllister is the Senior Vice President and Chief Actuarial Officer of Old Republic Specialty Insurance Underwriters in Yardley, PA.  His responsibilities include developing pricing models, profitability monitoring, and loss reserving for ORSIU’s Specialty Programs and Alternative Risks divisions. 

Mr. Sean McAllister will discuss property and casualty insurance pricing considerations and will walk the audience through an auto liability insurance pricing assignment for a large taxi company.  

This is a great opportunity to learn about what an actuary does at his daily work. You will be amazed to see that mathematics can play such an important role in this type of work. At the same time, the mathematics part is not as complicated as we thought. 

• Tuesday, February 19 at 11:00 am in LY 120

Come out to a Financial Education Presentation with PSECU! We will be playing Bet Your Assets, a Jeopardy-style trivia game about credit, loans, and an assortment of other financial topics. This interactive game presented by your credit union on campus will be entertaining and educational. We hope to see you there!

Tyler Ashberry is the Assistant Manager of the PSECU Financial Education Center at Kutztown University. Tyler is a senior finance major with a minor in criminal justice. He started working as an intern for PSECU during his freshman year and has since taken on greater responsibilities within the credit union. For the past two summers, Tyler has served as the Financial Education Intern at PSECU’s headquarters in Harrisburg, PA. Upon graduation this May, he hopes to pursue a career that will allow him to focus on financial education or loss prevention, particularly within the credit union environment.   

• Thursday, November 29 at 11:00 am in LY 120  

Topic: Five Money Myths...And How They Are Costing You

If you've ever wondered if it's ok to spend your student loan refund money, if it's free to monitor your credit score, or if poor financial management during college can impact your ability to borrow money in the future - this presentation is for you. Presenters from the Kutztown University PSECU Financial Education Center will discuss five money myths that negatively impact many students when it comes to managing their personal finances. 

Ms. Kelly Ann Ryan is the Manager of the PSECU Financial Education Center at Kutztown University. In her role, she presents financial education programs to the campus community and manages a staff of undergraduate interns. Kelly Ann's passion for working with college students stems from her previous experience working in student affairs at Penn State University and Cedar Crest College. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication from Mansfield University and a Master of Arts degree in leadership and public administration from Centenary University.

Mr. Tyler Ashberry is the Assistant Manager of the PSECU Financial Education Center at Kutztown University. Tyler is a senior finance major with a minor in criminal justice. He started working as an intern for PSECU during his freshman year and has since taken on greater responsibilities within the credit union. For the past two summers, Tyler has served as the Financial Education Intern at PSECU's headquarters in Harrisburg, PA. Upon graduation this May, he hopes to pursue a career that will allow him to focus on financial education or loss prevention, particularly within the credit union environment. 

  ​

• Thursday, September 20 at 11:00 am in Lytle 120

Ms. Kathleen Earle,​ chair of the Guardian Life Insurance Actuarial Student Committee, will speak about 2019 internship opportunities. 

Ms. Earle, FSA, MAAA has worked at Guardian Life Insurance for 13 years in a variety of actuarial roles including Dental and Supplemental Health pricing as well as Life and Long Term Disability valuation.  Her current role is Director and Associate Actuary in Underwriting focusing on employer groups with 500+ employees. 

Please come to join us to see whether you are qualified for the internship positions. If you are not qualified yet, come to learn how to prepare yourself for future internship opportunities. 

2017-2018 Activities:

• Thursday, April 26 at 11:00 am in Lytle 120

We are lucky enough to have three representatives from a local insurance company (Guardian Life in Bethlehem) to speak at this meeting. One of them is an experienced financial planner and the other two are actuaries.

Mr. Ken Kovalik is a Financial Advisor and the Managing Director at Independence Planning Group, Allentown, PA.  After graduating from Wheaton College (IL) with a degree in Economics, Mr. Ken Kovalik worked for a number of years with ServiceMaster Management Services, from which he retired as Executive Vice President. Mr. Ken Kovalik is also Co-Founder and President of K&A Development Corporation, a real estate investment company and serves as a member of the board of his local church.  He previously served for several years on Board of Directors of Greater Europe Mission and Vision Quest Alliance, both based in Monument, Co.  In recent years, he has consulted internationally in Ukraine, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Romania, and Dubai (UAE). In his financial services practice, he works with small businesses and individuals on a customized basis to review, analyze, improve, and protect their overall financial positions.  In addition to his individual work, he speaks to groups about effective financial strategies in these challenging economic times as well as keys to discovering and protecting personal true wealth.  Mr. Ken Kovalik will share what financial advisors do in general, what he and his team do in his practice in working with clients at IPG, and what steps one might take to become a financial advisor if they would want to pursue this vocation as a career.  

Ms. Kathleen Earle, FSA, MAAA has worked at Guardian Life Insurance for 13 years in a variety of actuarial roles including Dental and Supplemental Health pricing as well as Life and Long Term Disability valuation.  Her current role is Director and Associate Actuary in Underwriting focusing on employer groups with 500+ employees.  She also serves as the Chair of Guardian's Actuarial Student Committee.  Ms. Kathleen Earle graduated cum laude from The College of New Jersey in 2005 with a BA in Mathematics and minors in Economics and Statistics.  

Mr. Ian Harbele graduated from Kutztown University in the winter of 2016 with a degree in business management and minors in mathematics, actuarial science, and economics. He passed Exam FM, obtained all three VEE credits, and will be sitting for Exam P in July 2018. Mr. Ian Harbele is currently working as a New Business Underwriter in the Large Market segment of Guardian Life Insurance. Mr. Ian Harbele will be speaking about the details of his position and the relationship to coursework, preparation for the professional world, the concept of generalists vs. specialists, and professional preferences.

• Tuesday, March 27 at 11:00 am in Lytle 228

Natalie A. Snow is Director of Institutional Research for Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.  Since coming to Kutztown University in 2003, she has worked primarily for the Office of Institutional Research. The mission of the Office of Institutional Research is to support institutional management, policy-making, decision-making and assessment functions in a timely and efficient manner through the collection, organization, analysis, and dissemination of internal and external data.  Ms. Snow earned a B.A. in Psychology and Anthropology from Muhlenberg College in 2003 and an M.Ed. from Kutztown University in Student Affairs in Higher Education in 2006.

• Thursday, February 22 at 11:00 am in Lytle 120

Mr. Sean McAllister is the Senior Vice President and Chief Actuarial Officer of Old Republic Specialty Insurance Underwriters in Yardley, PA.  His responsibilities include developing pricing models, profitability monitoring, and loss reserving for ORSIU's Specialty Programs and Alternative Risks divisions. Previously, he was Director of Pricing for Admiral Insurance Company, a W.R. Berkley Company, where he oversaw Admiral's pricing of Casualty, Excess Casualty, Professional (medical and non-medical), and Commercial Property business. Prior to that, Mr. McAllister was a Principal and Consulting Actuary for Milliman, Inc., where he performed pricing and loss reserving analyses for clients, including insurance companies, reinsurers, self-insurance programs, and captive companies. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Johns Hopkins University.  

Mr. McAllister will discuss property and casualty insurance pricing considerations and will walk the audience through an auto liability insurance pricing assignment for a large taxi company.  

• Monday, December 4 at 11:00 am in Lytle 214

Dr. Daniel Arnold will tell us what actuaries do, where actuaries work, and who should consider becoming an actuary. 

Dr. Arnold graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master's degree in Actuarial Science with Distinction.  He is now retired after a distinguished career including: Fellow of the Society of Actuaries since 1969; Member of the American Academy of Actuaries; Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries; Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries; Vice President of Hooker & Holcombe; President of H&H Investment Solutions; Ten years of actuarial experience with Connecticut General Life Insurance Company; US Navy veteran.

• Thursday, September 28 at 11:00 in Lytle 120

The Statistics and Actuarial Science Club will welcome Mr. Jerry Shen, a FINRA registered representative and Branch Office Supervisor in Transamerica Financial Advisors, to share his perspective as a Financial Advisor.  

Are you interested in getting some financial advice? Are you interested in becoming a financial adviser? Are you interested in some extra credit? Are you interested in getting free pizza or free lunch? Whatever your interest is, you might learn something useful from this talk.

2016-2017 Activities: 

• Thursday, March 9 at 3:00 pm in Lytle 214

Dr. Donald Richard (Penn State University Department of Statistics) will tell us about "Statistical Properties of the Risk-Transfer Formula in the Affordable Care Act".

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 led to the creation of competitive insurance plans which provide universal health-insurance coverage without regard to pre-existing medical conditions. To assist insurers during a transitional period the Act introduced a ''risk-transfer formula," which requires insurance plans with healthier enrollees to transfer funds to plans with sicker enrollees, thereby discouraging any tendency for insurers to favor healthier enrollees. However, it has been noticed that risk-transfer amounts have been more volatile for smaller insurance plans than for larger plans, a phenomenon which led to insolvency for some smaller plans.  

In this talk, we treat the risk-transfer amounts as random variables. By analyzing the variances of these amounts, we will obtain a theoretical explanation for the observed phenomenon that risk-transfer amounts were more volatile for insurers with smaller market shares. Further, we will provide examples for which the phenomenon holds.

• Monday, November 14 at 11:00 am in Lytle 136

Our speaker is Ms Lara Coviello, an Executive Director on the Fund Strategy Team at Franklin Square, will discuss how they use statistics at their company and FS Investments, and then share possible career options. 

Ms. Coviello serves as a portfolio specialist and subject matter expert to educate advisors and investors about Franklin Square's current offerings. She brings over nine years of experience in investment research and portfolio management.

Prior to joining Franklin Square, Ms. Coviello founded her own investment advisory firm, Auctus Wealth Management, whereas lead portfolio manager she specialized in tailoring clients' investments to their financial goals. Ms. Coviello began her financial services career at Linden Asset Management and Linden Growth Partners LP, an RIA and pre-IPO evergreen fund, performing risk assessment, market analysis and research on public and privately held companies. Ms. Coviello also spent two years as a statistician in the pharmaceutical industry.

Ms. Coviello received her MA in Statistics from Columbia University and her BS from Penn State University. She also completed the Private Equity and Venture Capital Executive Education course at Harvard Business School. Ms. Coviello holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Philadelphia and the American Statistical Association.

• Tuesday, September 20 at 11:00 am in Lytle 228  

Statistics and Actuarial Science Club President, Ian Haberle, will be speaking about his path to becoming an actuary and how other students can maximize their education at Kutztown University.

Topics to be covered: 

• Overview of an actuary
• Professional requirements
• Kutztown resources
• Other resources
• Creating your own path

Ian Haberle is a senior at Kutztown University and is actively training to become an actuary. During the summer, he passed Exam FM/2 and is currently studying for Exam P/1. His business management major is complemented by mathematics, economics, and actuarial science minors, which all have relevant coursework. He organized a path which utilizes all that Kutztown has to offer and wants to help other students do the same.