Biography: Shannon Leo is a rising senior double majoring in Business Economics and Financial Actuarial Mathematics with a Specialization in Computing. As a very organized and detail-oriented person, she loves playing around with numbers and solving problems through calculations and analytical thinking, and she has always been curious about how the economy works. Committed to exploring her passion for mathematics and intellectual curiosities in the world of business and healthcare, Shannon quickly became drawn to the actuarial field as an empowering and innovative discipline that combines mathematics, statistics, and finance to analyze and minimize the risks and costs of uncertainty. Within UCLA, Shannon is also a member of the College Honors program and has been actively involved in various student organizations, including Bruin Actuarial Society, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, Alumni Scholars Club, and Club Badminton. Besides focusing on her academic and career endeavors, she enjoys music performance, badminton, skiing, traveling, and DIY crafts.

 

Future Plans: With her mind set on pursuing a career as an actuary, Shannon hopes to continue to expand her actuarial knowledge by taking a full-time position as an actuarial analyst in the healthcare industry, as well as to develop her leadership and technical skills by connecting with the actuarial community, gaining exposure in various actuarial areas of practice, and seizing opportunities to participate in leadership conferences and high-visibility projects. On top of that, she aims to complete the rigorous series of actuarial examinations offered by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) to attain her Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) designation and be well on her way towards acquiring her Fellowship of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) designation. Post-graduation, she also wants to give back to the UCLA community by keeping in touch with various student organizations and participating in volunteering and alumni events.

 

What this scholarship means to me?: I am extremely grateful and honored to be selected as the recipient of the John J. Peterson Scholarship. As a fourth-year undergraduate student and an aspiring actuary, I recognize the financial burden on students and their families in the pursuit of higher education and understand the costs for actuarial science students as they continue along the pathway to becoming a full-fledged actuary. This scholarship will help me, as a full-time college student and part-time worker, reduce my financial costs of education and enable me to devote more time to focus on my studies, extracurricular activities, and career development while allowing me to expand my network of connections with diverse and vibrant groups of accomplished individuals, thus presenting opportunities to engage in leadership, research, and global experiences.