Student page

As the winter days slowly fade away, and the time for exams nears, we bring you the inspirational words of Shane Latchman, a third-year BSc Actuarial Science student at Cass Business School who was awarded the ninth annual John Culver Wooddy Scholarship. And we give you our special rundown of what’s hot and what’s not.
Jen and Jean

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Shane Latchman:
Last year, the Actuarial Foundation announced that I was one of the winners of the John Culver Wooddy Scholarship. I was delighted to be one of the recipients of these $2000 awards, funded by the estate of John Culver Wooddy, a distinguished actuary who set aside funds to provide scholarships to actuarial students.

In order to qualify for the scholarship, I had to fulfi l various academic criteria. This included ranking in the top quartile of my class, successfully completing one actuarial examination, and receiving a recommendation from an academic at Cass. I also submitted an essay about why I would like to become an actuary. My reasons were, apart from being a mathematical person, that there is also a fertile employment market for actuaries, especially in the burgeoning fi eld of catastrophe modelling, a non-traditional actuarial role.

In addition to the academic requirements, the Actuarial Foundation gives preference to candidates that have demonstrated leadership potential through extra-curricular activities. Last summer, I took part in a house-building project in partnership with a local Catholic centre and Habitat for Humanity, an organisation that builds housing together with volunteers and people in need.

It is my firm conviction that the most important act of charity a person can undertake is one that makes a sustainable difference to people’s lives. I am appalled by the inequalities that exist in our global society, such as families that have no running water or electricity and whose children are not able to receive an education. The opportunity to be an agent of change in one family’s life provided the impetus for me to take part in the project.

My work involved building a new home for a family of ten living in a shack in central Trinidad. Trinidad is the most south-easterly island in the Caribbean, with over 12% real GDP growth rate and a GDP per capita of around $10 000. It is the leading producer of oil and gas in the Caribbean and a large part of the workforce is concentrated in the energy industry. The remaining workforce is employed largely in manufacturing, light industry and agriculture. Like most countries, Trinidad has rural parts where living conditions can be very basic. The setting in which this family lived was appalling and their dwelling was no larger than a standardsized bedroom. With the help of a dozen other volunteers we constructed the house in about two months.

The project was particularly interesting as we did not use new materials. We re-purposed discarded materials such as windows and beams from demolished houses, as well as supplies donated to the project. This added another dimension to the work’s appeal as a great deal of creativity was used when say, building a loft by fi tting together randomly shaped pieces of wood that were available. Work also varied from excavating the foundations, mixing cement and installing windows, to erecting beams and painting the completed house. The project was a resounding success and the mother of the family now has a comfortable environment in which to raise her children.

It is frequently said that those that have the least to give are often the most generous and the camaraderie I witnessed in this rural part of Trinidad made me rethink the way that I live among others. The neighbours gave no thought to lending any tools they had and our actions inspired others from the community to join and help in whatever manner they could. Of all the voluntary experiences I have had, this was easily the most rewarding and I would defi nitely recommend anyone to take part in similar projects.

After my degree I hope to continue studying, perhaps for a Masters in applied mathematics, followed by working with Hazell Carr in Reading. Eventually I would like to return to my native Trinidad so that I may contribute to my country, serving in the fi nancial sector and developing its capabilities there.

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HOT OR NOT?
Hot:
» SIAS Poker Tournament 11 March
» The end of 24-hour work days completing year-end tasks
» Planning your post-exam holiday
» Bonus time
» Taking study days again
Not hot:
» Having the wrong calculator for the April 2008 exams
» Tutorial break-out groups. Who cares what we think? Tell us what the examiner wants us to think!
» Filling in your work-based skills learning log
» Missing the exam entry closing date
» CT9 BAM. Easy. Expensive. Irrelevant?
» CA2 Modelling Course. Not as easy as you think. Expensive. Irrelevant?
» Cheating in exams, followed by a disciplinary tribunal panel, membership suspension and being named and shamed in The Actuary. Don’t do it.

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If you have any bright ideas for the Student Page, please e-mail jenandjean@the-actuary.org.uk