The Society of Actuaries Makes Inaugural $150,000 Gift to STEM Stars

SCHAUMBURG, IL (September 8, 2021) – The Actuarial Foundation (Foundation) is proud and grateful to announce the generous sponsorship of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) for the Foundation’s STEM STARS Actuarial Scholars Pilot Program. This transformative support will help the Foundation launch the first cohort with its primary goal to break down the barriers to enter the profession for high school students and to support them during their college journey.

The Foundation created the STEM STARS Actuarial Scholars Pilot Program  based on a culmination of research and input from multiple partners and leaders in the actuarial and insurance industries. The pilot program will consist of a cohort of 20 high school juniors and seniors. Four student support groups formed by the Foundation, including a Corporate Advisory Council, Scholarship Mentors, University Partnerships and Applications Review will create a community of volunteers and partners committed to these students’ success. Each of these support groups will provide students with academic tutoring, social rapport, mentoring, career placement and peer encouragement that they need to be successful on their pathway to becoming actuaries.

The STEM STARS Actuarial Scholar Pilot Program will also leverage two of the Foundation’s most successful national programs, the Math Motivators Tutoring Program and The Modeling the Future Challenge to engage teachers, students and guidance counselors.

• Math Motivators is a volunteer-driven free math tutoring program that pairs underserved middle and high school students with professionals and college students with strong mathematics backgrounds. The program provides weekly tutoring, both in person and virtually, using a proven 2:1 student-to-tutor ratio for a wide range of math subjects. The STEM STARS Actuarial Scholars Pilot Program will launch in Chicago and Philadelphia as these cities have large-scale Math Motivators programs established and are supported by school, university, and corporate partners. The SOA was the original exclusive sponsor of Math Motivators at its start, through which it provided the funding necessary to launch this very successful program.
• The Modeling the Future Challenge is a national academic competition in which high school students learn real-world data analytics, mathematical modeling, and actuarial science. Recently, the program launched an Underserved Engagement Initiative with a goal to increase and expand access by including high school students who are traditionally underserved through targeted outreach and specially developed program materials to students and educators in Title 1 schools. Past, present and future students participating in the Modeling the Future Challenge will be notified of the STEM STARS Actuarial Scholars Pilot Program.

By sponsoring the STEM STARS Actuarial Scholars Pilot Program, the SOA and its members will help the Foundation advance the academic and career development in the U.S. actuarial profession.

“I am proud to see the SOA and our members take the lead to support critical and much-needed scholarships focused on breaking down barriers for underserved students to attract and support them as actuarial science scholars and eventually thriving members of the actuarial profession,” says SOA President Roy Goldman, Ph.D., FSA, MAAA, CERA. “STEM STARS gives the SOA and its members multiple opportunities to mentor, serve as corporate advisors and be a part of a community committed to promoting awareness of the actuarial profession.”

Look for more information about the STEM STARS Actuarial Scholars Pilot Program coming soon at www.actuarialfoundation.org.