This DEI edition of Share your Story features Kristen Long (FSA, MAAA), member of the Network of Actuarial Women and Allies.
Marilyn:
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kristen:
My name is Kristen Long. My husband, Nick, and I live in Tennessee and spend a lot of our summer out on the lake. I also love playing tennis, reading different kinds of fiction, and spending time with friends and family.
From a professional perspective, I joined Unum’s Actuarial Development Program almost 8 years ago. I have since successfully graduated from the program and am now the Director of Group Pricing. I am also the Vice President of the Partnerships committee for NAWA. They’re an awesome organization and I have met a lot of wonderful people through NAWA.
Marilyn:
Great. So just a little bit about you personally, I am always curious to hear, when did you first find out about actuarial science?
Kristen:
That’s a great question. So, when I was in high school, my mom Googled ‘high paying math jobs’ and actuary popped up as an option. And so, I said ‘yeah, sure – sounds great. I’ll give that a try.’ I knew nothing about it, other than it was a high paying job. I didn’t know about the exam process or any of it, but I have really enjoyed it ever since and, and haven’t looked back. It’s definitely helped fund my shoe closet!
Marilyn:
That’s awesome. Out of curiosity, what was your experience with the exam process?
Kristen:
I found out about it because I had some friends in college, a year ahead of me or so. They asked when I was taking my first exam, before I was even aware of them, so that led down to the rabbit hole of starting the exam process.
But I started taking exams my junior year of college and failed the first time. Right after failing, I learned about TIA, Coaching Actuaries, and all the study material options. It all worked out in the end. I earned my FSA in December of 2021.
Marilyn:
Congrats on that. Takes a lot of work!
Kristen:
It took eight and a half years – start to finish. Which is fairly standard, actually. Though it felt so long.
Marilyn:
Yeah, that’s pretty awesome that you kept on after failing your first exam. I find that commendable.
Kristen:
Yeah, I thankfully had a lot of friends who were in a similar situation. It was helpful just to hear their experiences, know that you can just retake them, and that it’s not the end of the world.
Marilyn:
So, how did you get into the actuarial field after college?
Kristen:
I went to the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and they have a really good internship program.
So, I basically worked for a year and a half. I took a year off between my junior and senior year of college and worked full time for a company. That really helped set me up for a full-time job. After school, I applied to a bunch of different companies. I leveraged LinkedIn posts and things like that to apply to places, and Unum hired me right out of college.
Unum has an incredible leadership development program for actuarial students. It’s a rotational program where you usually start in pricing or valuation role, and then every two years you rotate around the company to a different actuarial or finance department. This is all while they support you through the exam process and help you develop the skills to become a leader of the organization. Once you earn your FSA, you are usually promoted into a director position and get to continue to lead and mentor other actuarial students at the company.
Aisha:
What was your favorite rotation?
Kristen:
My favorite rotation – that is a tough one. I really loved my role in our corporate actuarial department. Especially during year-end. I got to act as the project manager for all of the actuarial valuation teams, which was super fun, and I really loved it. But I really do like my current role in group pricing. Just because I get to work on so many different projects with so many different people. It’s never boring, that’s for sure.
Marilyn:
Awesome. So, I guess getting deeper into this, what is your experience being a woman within the actuarial field?
Kristen:
That’s a great question. I would say in college, it was a little bit tough. And I had some, I guess, less than ideal experiences with some professors basically telling me they did not think I would make it because they didn’t believe that I was technically strong enough to be an Actuary. I did not meet the traditional mold of an Actuary.
But being at Unum and being a part of NAWA, I’ve met, so many extraordinary people that have been so supportive over my career. People that value the different perspectives that I have, and the different skills that I bring to the table.
I may not be the most traditional or technical actuary, but I pride myself on understanding the concepts and being able to communicate them effectively to different groups of people. I love project management, and I love being able to help organize the projects in the work and make sure things are on track. I’m really good at networking and figuring out who needs to be brought in at different times.
It’s been great being able to be a part of things like NAWA or some of my other volunteering work with the SOA. All the different kinds of actuaries and the different people that I’ve worked with, and everyone within the profession that I’ve had the opportunity to work with has been nothing but supportive.
Marilyn:
Expanding on that, what made you want to join NAWA?
Kristen:
One of the wonderful HR people that we work with as part of our actuarial recruiting program at Unum, sent me a NAWA LinkedIn in post. She said, ‘Hey, you love this kind of stuff, you should go do this.’
I got involved very early on. They were just starting all of the different committees and asked what I wanted to do. I was happy to help in any way they needed. So, they asked if I would be a part of the partnerships and sponsorships group that Rae Warner had been leading. And then with Rae getting elected to the board and taking on more responsibilities, they asked if I would step into the leadership role as a part of the partnerships track of work. This was a huge honor, and I love getting to connect to our different sponsors and partners –DW Simpson being one of them.
It has been a really fun way to have an impact in the industry as well. Our working group is across the SOA and the CAS. Everyone works for different companies, doing totally different things. I get to work with people that I never would have gotten to work with otherwise, because we work in very different parts of the industry. I’m so glad I’ve gotten to meet all of them. They are the most remarkable women that I’ve ever met. And there are some wonderful male allies that we get to work with, too.
Marilyn:
I didn’t think about that aspect that you get to work with both the SOA and CAS.
Kristen:
A lot of the founders are more on the CAS side. So, they were super excited when I joined because I was on the SOA side, and they needed more of us.
Marilyn:
What are some takeaways that you’re hoping the actuarial community learns from NAWA?
Kristen:
I really hope that we showcase the importance of having diversity, and diversity of gender in the room. I think it’s gotten better since my internship, what feels like a very long time ago now. I think another big thing is just the emphasis on allies. And it’s not just men being allies, it’s other women who are in positions of power. Just people in general, being more supportive of each other, instead of trying to make it harder on everyone behind them.
You know, a rising tide raises all ships. I’m hoping that we can spread that message and help elevate everyone together.
We have lots of good things coming, and I’m hoping we can continue to get volunteers to support a lot of the really fun initiatives. For example, we hosted a book club, and I hope we can continue doing book club. We also have plans to build out things like mentorship programs because I think those are really important and just really fun for community building and getting to meet new people.
Marilyn:
That’s great. And to be clear, do you need to be a woman or actuary to be a NAWA member or volunteer?
Kristen:
No – we are open to everyone, all genders. You also don’t have to have a credential. If you are interested in the industry, you can join. I find this cool and unique. To be a member of the SOA or the CAS you have to have taken and passed enough exams. But that is not the case for NAWA. So, if you want to meet some awesome actuaries, you can join and join some of our events!
Article written & edited by Marilyn Simpson; transcribed by Aisha Ali.
Be sure to keep your eye out for our next Share your Story series topic where we continue to explore the topic of DEI, featuring some very special guests!
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