For TROY risk management and insurance senior Hollan Vander Hey, RIMS, the risk management society, is about building key relationships and expanding learning outside the classroom.
In February, the organization awarded her a 2019 Anita Benedetti Student Involvement Program grant, just one of 36 awarded to elite risk management and insurance undergraduates worldwide, to attend the RIMS 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition April 28-May 1 in Boston, Mass.
“It’s such an honor to receive this grant,” Vander Hey said. “A lot of people apply to be an ABSIP scholar, and to be one of the 36 chosen is an awesome feeling. Being picked, just gave me confidence to know a big organization, like RIMS, saw such potential in me.”
The award, sponsored by The Spencer Educational Foundation, provides students with funds for travel expenses, hotel accommodations and registration to the conference.
Sorrell College of Business Dean Dr. Judson Edwards said the award was an honor, but also acknowledged the caliber of TROY RMI students, faculty and staff.
“Our RMI students are well prepared for such opportunities through the exceptional work of the faculty and staff who are dedicated their success,” he said. “I could not be happier for Hollan. She will learn so much from this experience and serve as a great ambassador of the Sorrell College and RMI Program.”
Vander Hey recognizes the importance of having an opportunity to attend one of the industry’s premier conferences.
“The RIMS annual conference is a great opportunity. It allows me to meet and network with companies and attend sessions to learn about the growing industry. The risk management and insurance industries are all about relationships, and I think RIMS does a great job in helping you develop these relationships,” she said.
In addition to conference attendance, ABSIP scholars are teamed with an industry mentor who works to help the students enter real-world work scenarios successfully.
“You get real life advice from someone in the industry and get to network with people your own age, making connections with people with whom you’ll enter the industry,” Vander Hey said. “Making these connections through the RIMS conference as an ABSIP scholar makes me more confident as I graduate and enter the industry. I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunities being a ABSIP scholar has afforded me.”
