A Visit to the Cooperators

The U of R internship program gives students the opportunity for a 12-16 month work experience between their third and fourth year classes.  I am in the process of doing on site visits with the cohort of 5 interns who started their 16 month work terms in May 2011 and the one intern who started a 12 month work term in September 2011.  All five return for their last year of classes in September 2012.  I suspect that the cultural change from work place to class room (not to mention the loss of a pay check) will a shock to them.

I did an on site visit with two of our interns at the Cooperators yesterday, Chelsea Valois and Erin Dodd.  Chelsea and Erin are in the last semester of their 16 month work terms.  By all accounts they are having very positive experiences.  It was also nice to touch base with U of R grads working at the Cooperators.  Chelsea's supervisor is Thomas Wood who was one of the first U of R interns and a student in the very first ActSci class I taught (ACSC116 bass in the Fall 2002 term).

Next week I will visit two more interns at Cooperators, Colin Billet who is finishing a 16 month work term and Jing Lu who is finishing a 12 month work term.  

The fifth intern is Emelita Tejeda who is on a 16 month term at the WCB.  She gets an on site visit from me every week, due to my role as internal actuary at the WCB!

SOA Exams At U of R and Poll

We had 5 candidates write exam P on the 15th and 4 write exam C on the 22nd.  No one signed up to write exam FM at the U of R, but I know of at least one person doing it via CBT in Saskatoon.

I've posted a poll on exam writing - do you prefer the old fashioned pen and paper or that new fangled computer based testing method?

What to Bring to an SOA Exam

I've just spent 20 minutes signing in a group of fresh candidates writing their first SOA exam.  Remember the following things for your exam.

DO bring

1. Your letter of acknowledgement from the SOA (2 candidates appeared without these today).
2. An SOA calculator (I had to supply two candidates with calculators because they brought the wrong one) - and know how it works!
3. Photo ID; and
4. Pencils and an eraser.

DONT

1. Leave your cell phone on so that it rings during the exam;
2. Bring food to the exam - drinks are ok as long as they don't "cause a disturbance" (I'm still figuring that one out);
3. Use a pen; or
4. Keep writing after time is called.

Good Luck to Our Interns

Belated good luck wishes to our third year students setting out on internship this summer.  The cohort of students setting out on 16 month internships is as follows.

• Courtney Clifford at Sask. Workers Compensation
• Shelby Herman at Great West Life
• Lauren Mazurkewich also at Great West Life
• Mwiti Njagi at Co-operators Life Insurance
• Stephen Wallace at SGI

In the fall, Pornpyia Vikiset will be starting a 12 month internship at Co-operators Life Insurance.

I'm sure that all 5 students will do us proud.

Spring SOA Exams

I will be supervising the pen and paper versions of the SOA preliminary exams again this spring and fall.  Dates, times and locations are as follows. 

Exam P/1
May 15, 2012 8:30-11:30 CL416
September 13, 2012 8:30-11:30 Location TBA

Exam FM/2
June 4, 2012 8:30-11:30 Location TBA
October 8, 2012 8:30-11:30 Location TBA

Exam MFE/3F
August 1, 2012 8:30-11:30 Location TBA
November 7, 2012 8:30-11:30 Location TBA

Exam C/4
May 22, 2012 8:30-12:00 CL416
October 19, 2012 8:30-11:30 Location TBA