Educator Spotlight | Meet Paul

What impact did The Actuarial Foundation have on you?

Every student and every teacher is looking for an endeavor to give themselves to fully and without reservation. Something worthy of their time and dedication. Every year, the Modeling the Future Challenge serves this purpose for my students and me. The Challenge is a celebration of mathematics that encourages independent study, provides an environment for teamwork, and brings out the best in my students through academic competition.

What program did you participate in and why?

I participated in the Modeling the Future Challenge to make a difference for my students and to make myself feel like I’m pursuing something with a purpose.

What’s your best experience/memory from being a part of a TAF program?

Year after year, we compete against ourselves. We push ourselves to grow, expand our research, and work more efficiently as a team. Our goal is to be satisfied with our effort and the quality of our work. Some of our teams have been fortunate enough to qualify as finalists, but even when teams are disappointed with the results, we reflect, regroup, and recognize that we have achieved what we set out to accomplish. In this way, we are always thrilled to give ourselves to this great endeavor.

What’s your advice to future actuaries/participants?

As I said before, we want to be satisfied with the effort we put into a project. Always make sure to reflect your work after you’ve been rejected and come back wiser. You will never regret trying something again because you’ll always learn something new.