X
Story

Building the next generation of insurance leaders at Georgia State University

working on project

Chubb funded scholarship provides financial support and advancement opportunities for diverse students.

Both insurance and education run in Drew Stidwell’s family. His father was a claims adjuster and his grandfather was a high school principal and assistant superintendent. When Stidwell, a student at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, learned about the Chubb Robert M. Hernandez scholarship, he knew he had to apply.

“As soon as I learned I was awarded the scholarship, the first thing I wanted to do was phone my grandfather,” said Stidwell “My grandfather told me how proud he was of me, and it meant so much to be able to share this good news with him. I was ecstatic.”

Stidwell is one of three Georgia State University (GSU) students – along with Tyra Evans and Nicole Msowoya – selected as the inaugural recipients of the Chubb Robert M. Hernandez Scholarship, which is awarded to students who are studying  risk management and insurance at GSU’s Robinson College of Business.

Chubb’s Global Risk, Analytics and Digital (GRAD) team launched the scholarship in 2021. It’s funded through the Chubb Charitable Foundation. As part of Chubb’s overall commitment to promote racial equity, this scholarship will provide financial support and advancement opportunities for diverse undergraduates studying risk management and insurance at Georgia State University.

Scholarships will be awarded to two to five students annually for three years, beginning in the fall 2021 academic year. Recipients also will be considered by Chubb for employment opportunities, where applicable.

The scholarship is named for Robert M. Hernandez, who served on the Chubb Board of Directors for nearly 35 years, including 16 years as independent Lead Director. In addition to his board service at Chubb, Hernandez had a long and distinguished career at USX Corp., where he held a range of senior finance and executive positions, including serving as Vice Chairman, Director and Chief Financial Officer.

“Chubb provides more annual scholarship funds to Robinson risk management and insurance students than any other company, helping us train an even greater number of students from diverse backgrounds to become the next generation of risk and insurance leaders," said Stephen H. Shore, Risk Management and Insurance Department chair at Georgia State University. "With more than one third of risk management and insurance undergraduate students eligible for Pell Grants, the Chubb Robert M. Hernandez Scholarship will be transformational to its recipients."

“These are exceptional students with incredibly bright futures in the insurance industry,” said Lori Dunstan, Executive Director of the Chubb Charitable Foundation. “Their excitement and enthusiasm for their educational journey at GSU resonated with all of those involved in the selection process as did their academic rigor and interest in the insurance industry.”

Nicole Msowoya was drawn to insurance through another combination of family and background. She originally intended to study applied mathematics or economics , but then her cousin told her about an actuarial career.

When researching the role, Msowya discovered that her home country of Malawi needed qualified actuaries. Her grandmother set up a meeting with an actuary from Zambia who was coming to do consultation work in Malawi.

“She spoke to me about what being an actuary is like, and I was inspired,” said Msowoya. “When I considered my country’s need for actuaries and my love for mathematics, I could see that this would be a good career choice for me.”

For Tyra Evans, the journey to majoring in actuarial science and receiving this scholarship, was not straightforward, but did include another bit of familial guidance.

She considered the sciences, specifically medicine, or pursuing an IT role, but then realized those fields didn’t really motivate her. She received some sage advice from her mother.

“My mom told me, ‘If there’s nothing you’re passionate about yet, try to look at the things that you’re good at,’” said Evans. “I’m really good at math and economics, so I thought, maybe I could do something in the finance or business field, and a family friend suggested actuarial science. It looked like a good integration of a field that was math-based, but also in the finance field. I find math fun, which surprises people. I want to do something related to that, and here I am.“