Academic History
Currently I am a junior majoring in Risk Management and Insurance. However, that was not always the case. I first enrolled at Temple as an Architecture major at Tyler School of Art. I was enrolled in studio classes, made models out of cardboard, wood, chipboard, paper, and learned how to do technical drawings of those models and even a typical Philadelphia row home. At Tyler, the architecture program is very competitive and usually accepts only 30 to 35 students into the professional program. I created a portfolio showing examples of my work I completed inside and outside of my studio courses, asked teachers to write recommendations, and provided a professional resume for the application. I applied to the professional program at Temple during the spring semester of my sophomore year and was accepted. This acceptance into the professional program is one of my proudest achievements because the program accepts only about half of the applicants.
Although I was accepted, my interest in Risk Management and Insurance was growing. Earlier my sophomore year, I decided to add a General Business Minor and that spring is when I discovered I wanted to work more with people rather than independently. In my Introduction to Risk Management course, I enjoyed learning about how to underwrite and hearing that insurance brokers network and communicate with a variety of clients and carriers. I felt like I would be more successful in the insurance industry because I enjoy creating relationships with many different types of people which is inherent in the insurance industry. Since I changed my major to Risk Management and Insurance, I needed to catch up with the Business School’s prerequisite courses. I took two courses last summer and have been taking all business courses this academic year. Currently, I am in what we Risk Management majors call “Bootcamp.” “Bootcamp” is the euphemism for taking Dr. Drennan’s and Mr. McCloskey’s foundation courses focusing on Health and Life Benefits and Property and Liability Coverage. I am learning a lot in both courses and hope to pursue the Property and Liability track within my major.