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Advancing Actuarial Opportunities (AAO) Program
Program Leads: Paul Johnson PhD, ASA and Margie Rosenberg PhD, FSA

Actuaries are business professionals who identify risks, and then quantify the financial consequences associated with a decision.  It is a challenging and financially rewarding STEM career option that involves probability, statistics, data science, and computer programming.

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The UW-Madison actuarial program wants to partner with schools to enroll qualified students in our actuarial courses.  The Advancing Actuarial Opportunities (AAO) program was created to to help increase the number of credentialed actuaries by raising awareness of actuarial science as a viable STEM career and providing the necessary education and support to pursue the career.

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AAO Program Approach:

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  • Communicate the breadth of an actuarial career to faculty, advisors, and students at STEM schools

  • Enable AAO students to attend online UW-Madison actuarial courses which can be designated for elective credit at their home institution.  

    • Course list is available here.

    • Tuition Cost: ~$500 per credit per student (Courses are typically 3 credits; maximum of 8 credits per semester)

    • Registration Fee: $130 per student (One-time fee to register as an online special student)

  • Pair AAO students with UW-Madison actuarial student “study buddies” for tutoring, advising, and networking support

  • Provide course and career mentorship from UW-Madison actuarial faculty

  • Provide online access to UW-Madison actuarial club events to learn about the facets of an actuarial career, including employer presentations

  • Provide networking opportunities by connecting AAO students with actuaries from the AAO Employer Advisory Board and the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) 

 

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Comments from Actuarial Students

Act Sci? That's What She Said!

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  • We interviewed 7 women and asked them why they chose to pursue actuarial science

  • Participants: Sarah Bloemer, Claire Chen, Stephanie Hayd, Mahima Joshi, Maddie Kennedy, Hannah Sell, Taylor Yang

  • ​Link to Video

Thomas Llamas

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  • Completed Early College STEM Academy: dual enrollment program between Madison high schools and Madison College

  • Graduated from the Wisconsin School of Business (2025) with a double major in actuarial science and risk management and insurance

Elijah Asemota

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  • Participated in the AAO program in the Fall 2024 semester

  • Subsequently enrolled in the Capstone Certificate in Actuarial Science program at UW-Madison (Spring and Fall 2025 semesters)

  • Has a full-time job as an actuary at TruStage in Madison

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the founding members of the Advancing Actuarial Opportunities Program:

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We appreciate the endorsement from the International Association of Black Actuaries of our Advancing Actuarial Opportunities Program:

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How Can I Support This Program?

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If you are a STEM faculty member or academic/career advisor, we would love to meet with you to discuss how the AAO program can benefit your students.

 

We would greatly appreciate financial support to cover the costs of AAO students taking our courses, and internship or full-time job opportunities for AAO students. 

 

If you are interested, please contact Dr. Johnson at paul.johnson@wisc.edu. Thank you! 

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