From Club President to Senior Analyst: How Drew Kelso ‘19 Made the Most of Every Opportunity

Drew Kelso ’19 visited the University of Maine at Farmington campus knowing that he wanted a profession that worked with math and computers with strong earnings potential and job security. After meeting Lori Koban and the actuarial science program, he knew Farmington was the school for him. Speaking to the strength of the program, Drew explains “it offered the same kind of exam curriculum and internship opportunities that larger programs would offer, while also having the close-knit community and relationships that allowed me to focus on my personal goals.”

For Drew, UMF offered the perfect balance between working one-on-one with classmates and professors while also branching out beyond the campus to take part in a variety of activities and experiences. In addition to learning from professors and peers in rigorous coursework, Drew co-founded and served as president of the Actuarial Science club, where he built meaningful relationships with fellow students that extended beyond his experiences in the classroom. The club provided a space for actuarial science students to come together and share their thoughts on classes, exams, and their future careers. Together they developed a community network for professional development that supported each other at UMF and beyond. 

Drew also built systems for support and success with students outside of the actuarial science program. As student assistant coach of the basketball team, he learned first-hand that “understanding and carefully maintaining relationships and connections within a team can be just as important as the actual skills and techniques the team employs.” This lesson remains relevant in his work today as he continues to build meaningful relationships across work teams, friends, and the community dedicated to understanding other’s motivations, goals, and feelings. 

In addition to extracurricular activities, Drew was a mathematics research assistant and supplemental instructor and completed internships all three summers he was at UMF. He interned with Actuarial Design and Solutions in Scarborough, Maine, Unum in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Aetna in Atlanta, Georgia. Through these internships, Drew explored different industries within actuarial science including pensions, disability, and health which informed his decision to enter the health industry and set the path for his career. In his own words, Drew explains what these opportunities meant to him,

In Spring 2019 Drew spent a semester abroad at University College Cork in Ireland after being awarded the Mitchell Peace Scholarship. This time abroad helped him hone his communication skills and grow in confidence, skills that have helped him work effectively with his colleagues and strengthened his leadership and mentoring abilities. He reflects fondly on the trip remembering “the breathtaking views and historic buildings that I got to visit and learn about, but also the personal feelings and changes that occurred during my time there, including building confidence in my ability to travel on my own, make friends in a country where I didn’t know anyone, and get out of my comfort zone. I have now taken a number of trips around the world, as far as China, that I never would’ve considered before my time in Ireland.”  

When asked what kind of fun he got up to with this much dedication to his studies, Drew recounted “one of the funniest memories was very early on in my time at UMF, we went to Smalls Falls and jumped off the cliff into the freezing water. I have a couple videos of long time friends standing on the edge too afraid to make the leap.”

Drew’s willingness to take every leap and opportunity that came his way has paid off in his career today. He worked for Anthem out of South Portland for a few years directly after college and for the past four years he’s been doing remote work for Point32Health. He has been promoted to Senior Analyst and is currently leading projects and supporting junior actuaries in their career and exam progression. Drew’s dedication to mentorship and community success is evident is his dedication within his work at Point32Health and his trips back to UMF to speak with actuarial science students today.

While mentoring the next generation of actuaries, Drew has reached the pinnacle of the profession this year by achieving the highest level of certification possible within the Society of Actuaries: becoming an official Fellow of the SOA! It is an extraordinary milestone as actuarial science relies on hyper-advanced mathematics, statistics, and financial theory—and climbing the professional ladder requires surviving a notoriously grueling series of professional board examinations. 

Drew describes his experience at UMF as “extremely beneficial—personally, professionally, and financially. It allowed me to get into a very strong career field with a great head start, which has developed into a stable and well-paying job. UMF prepared me both with exam/studying preparation and skills, as well as professional experiences that propelled me into a meaningful and successful career as an actuary.” Although Drew credits UMF with helping launch his success, his dedication to seizing every opportunity, striving for excellence, and giving back at every chance speaks volumes about his character and the drive that has brought him so far.