APIW SCHOLARSHIPS - Giving Back to the Industry

Each year since 1987, APIW has awarded scholarships to worthy students at St. John’s University – The School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science (formerly The College of Insurance). In later years, these scholarships were given under the name “Lana James Memorial Scholarship,” in honor of a dedicated APIW volunteer and Board Member who died prematurely in 1992.

Additional scholarships are also given on behalf of our Chicago Network to worthy students at The Katie Insurance School of Insurance and Financial Services at Illinois State University.

The tragic events of September 11th brought about our desire to create a symbolic and encompassing remembrance. We wished to honor all those within the APIW family who were lost that day and remember those other members who lost their lives prematurely. In their memory, APIW’s scholarships are now given under the name “APIW Memorial Scholarship” at St. John’s University; and the “APIW Lana James Memorial Scholarship” at the Katie School of Insurance.

In 2022, Kathleen Savio, APIW 2021 Insurance Woman of the Year and Zurich announced the APIW Zurich Kathleen Savio Scholarship, which will award 1 scholarship per year, for the next 5 years to one female student attending the Katie School of Insurance and Risk Management.

2022-2023 APIW Zurich Kathleen Savio Scholarship Recipient -  Sejal Pamnani

Sejal Pamnani has been selected to receive the inaugural APIW Zurich Kathleen Savio Scholarship! Sejal has been excelling at Illinois State University since she arrived as a freshman.  Now as a junior, she continues to be outstanding inside the classroom as well in the numerous activities she is involved in to augment her education and experiences. 

She is an Actuarial Science major in the Honors Program,  and she maintains a 3.87 GPA while concurrently holding leadership roles in both Gamma Iota Sigma, the RMI professional fraternity and the Actuarial Club. She was Director of Volunteering for Gamma last year, and she set a high bar with the number of planned events and student engagement. This year she has the role of Secretary, and she performs the duties effortlessly and efficiently.  Additionally, Sejal has completed the Certificate in Leadership and Business Acumen from the Katie School that is comprised of activities that are all attained from outside of the classroom experience.

Following her freshman year, she competed in the Auto Insurance Case Competition that was part of the CAS Student Central Summer Program. This past summer she interned in Medical Risk Adjustment at Humana, and this was another successful interaction for her. Also in her sophomore year, she was a team member on one of our Innovation Consulting Community research projects focused on “Analyzing the Legal Landscape of Facial Recognition Technology.”  The industry partner that the team consulted for was so impressed with her that he wanted to hire her, not knowing she was only a sophomore!

APIW 2023 Memorial Scholarship Recipient - Chenjie Gu

Chenjie Gu is a junior at The Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University. She is majoring in Actuarial Science with a minor in Data Science. She is a member of St. John’s Gamma Iota Sigma as well as a member of St. John’s Actuarial Club.

Chenjie has participated in Aon’s Actuarial Career Development Program where she worked on a team to create a plan to mitigate on-going cost, minimize workforce disruption and aligned benefit program changes with the acquisition of a company. She also participated with the Envestnet Institute on Campus Program, where she received broad-based training in asset and wealth management on managed solutions.

Last summer, Chenjie participated in the PCG Products Management Summer Intern Program at AIG, where she processed objection filings findings and presented recommendations to the executive board for constructive feedback, conducted research on rates and rules of New York, Florida and California and attended lunch and learns to gain exposure to career paths and colleagues career development, among other duties.

APIW 2023 Lana James Memorial Scholarship Recipient - Francesca Ferneau
Francesca Ferneau will be a senior at the Katie School of Insurance and Risk Management at Illinois State University in the 2023-2024 academic year. She is majoring in Risk Management and Insurance with a minor in Financial Planning and maintains a 3.83 GPA. She will President of the Alpha Kappa Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma in the upcoming year, and currently serves as Director of Outreach and Recruiting and the Chapter’s webmaster. Additionally, she is a Student Advisory Council Chapter Representative for Gamma Iota Sigma Grand Chapter. She was selected as a WSIA Intern for the summer of 2023 and for the carrier side, she will be with Nationwide E&S in Scottsdale. For the remaining part of the summer, she will spend time with the wholesale broker, ECC Insurance Brokers, in Oakbrook, IL.

As a high energy individual, Frankie is quite active while being academically strong. For the last year, she was Treasurer of her sorority, Chi Omega, and she has recently moved into the role of DEI Chair for it. She is a student worker for the ISU Vice President for Finance and Planning and for the Katie School of Insurance. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honors Society, a 2023 CPCU NextGen Scholar, and a student member of RIMS. In 2022 competed the Financial Planning Association Externship.

A natural networker and enjoying industry engagement, Frankie has attended various conference including the 2022 WSIA Extreme Risk Takers Symposium, the Gamma Iota Sigma Leadership Conference, the Chicagoland Risk Forum, the Gamma Iota Sigma International Conference, the NRRA Conference, the Gamma Iota Sigma Regional Conference, and the 2023 WSIA Extreme Risk Takers Symposium