GPWA strengthens ASU partnership with actuarial science scholarship

When George Belokas began his studies as a first generation college student more than twenty years ago, he declared engineering as his major. It didn’t take long for him to realize his passion was with math and business. After transitioning his major to mathematics, he set his sights on becoming an actuary and never looked back.

“I enjoyed my time at ASU learning from caring professors and developing lifelong friendships. While the actuarial sciences program began several years after I graduated, I remember joining other aspiring actuaries in exam preparation sessions taught by Dr. Matt Hassett. While the scenery at ASU has changed with new buildings going in each year, the caring nature of the professors seems to have remained,” said Belokas.

Today he serves as President of GPW and Associates (GPWA), which delivers a broad range of innovative and efficient insurance solutions, including both captive insurance management and actuarial consulting services. Senior Vice President Amanda Lubking leads GPWA’s actuarial practice, which provides property and casualty pricing, reserving, benchmarking, and product development for insurance companies, captives, public entities, and other corporations.

It was Belokas and Lubking’s idea for GPWA to expand their relationship with ASU by making an investment in the actuarial program in the form of endowing a scholarship.

“GPWA is expanding, and the demand for young actuaries is at an all-time high. GPWA anticipates this scholarship will help ASU continue to attract and retain the best talent in its actuarial programs.  Recognizing the significant time commitment required to complete the program, prepare for actuarial exams, and effectively engage with the community, GPWA hopes the added financial support will help students excel in all these areas,” said Belokas.

Professor of Practice Jelena Milovanovic is coordinator of the actuarial science program and one of the key people that launched the bachelor’s and master’s programs in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. She works hard to build meaningful relationships with local actuarial companies and gets them involved in every facet of the program.

“We are thrilled that GPWA is supporting this scholarship,” said Milovanovic. “As active partners with our school, GPWA is involved with our advisory board and sponsoring events with the Gamma Iota Sigma Kappa Chapter, as well as participating in the Actuarial Science Career Day. It is because of industry partners like them that our programs are so successful.”

“The actuarial sciences program at ASU is fortunate to have Jelena and a wonderful team of leaders that care about the students and their success.  Students in the actuarial sciences program at ASU get more than just a degree; they get support for the actuarial exams, assistance and experience preparing for interviews, access to current case studies impacting local businesses, and direct connections with the actuarial community,” said Belokas.

ASU’s actuarial science program excels at matching soon-to-be graduates with employers. In fact, over the past four years students who graduated each May had on average a 94% employment rate.

Belokas is convinced that becoming an actuary is a smart career choice. “If I started over and had to choose my career again, actuary would still be my first choice. How many people can say that? Actuaries continue to be sought after, highly valued, and well respected in the business world.”

“I think there is a misguided perception that by choosing to become an actuary, you are limiting your career options.  I would suggest the opposite.  Through exams, education, and experience, actuaries develop a unique skillset to analyze the past and help make educated predictions about the future, while also quantifying the risks associated with those predictions. These skills make actuaries valuable in solving the world’s most challenging problems.”