career

Spencer Foundation Grant Enables RMA Students to host Ed Katersky

When I joined the founding executive board of the Risk Management Association (RMA) at OSU my freshman year, I could not have dreamed of the success we would enjoy during these few years. We have grown from a small collaboration of students struggling to piece together a few meetings, to a thriving student organization. We have provided opportunities for Fisher College of Business students such as industry engagement and networking, case competitions, and our signature business crisis and continuity simulation exercises. Our success has been founded primarily in the aspiration and dedication of our students, along with the strong and steady support of The Risk Institute at Fisher College of Business.

This year, for the first time ever, our organization received even further support as we were fortunate enough to be a recipient of the Spencer Foundation Risk Manager in Residence Grant. For our RMIR series, we were pleased to host Ed Katersky, former Director of Risk Management for CVS, a risk industry professional with a tremendous depth and breadth of experience. During his time here, Mr. Katersky provided an enriched educational experience for our students including industry perspective based presentations in the classroom, extracurricular engagement and interaction, and one-on-one career coaching and relation. Combined, these additions provided an educational opportunity unparalleled by the traditional classroom experience, and a truly transformational moment for our students. These achievements would not have been possible without the support of the Spencer Foundation.

As part of his contributions in the classroom, Mr. Katersky spoke to both graduate and undergraduate classes related to enterprise risk, finance, and insurance. He brought the perspective of industry experience, exposing students to an understanding of how the theories they have learned in class are applied in the real world through case analyses and interactive activities. Mr. Katersky’s visit also engaged students outside of the classroom. In an event co-sponsored by the RMA and Ohio State’s chapter of the Gamma Iota Sigma insurance professional fraternity, he led an interactive group discussion with students by sharing his career experiences and giving advice for young professionals seeking careers in the field of insurance and risk. Opportunities such as this allow our students to understand the possibilities ahead of them and to become excited about their prospects in the field of risk. Mr. Katersky also spoke at a lunch for OSU students, faculty, and staff on the topic of enterprise risk management, and shared a unique glimpse into his successful business career.

The third way in which the Risk Manager in Residence program enhanced our students’ educational experience was through one-on-one interactions and relations. Mr. Katersky conducted office hours where he met with students individually, allowing them to receive personal and tailored expertise and advice. These intimate interactions provided an opportunity for students to further develop their aspirations and professional identities. Additionally, Mr. Katersky had the chance to attend a dinner with top risk students at OSU including RMA and GIS members. This was not only a great opportunity for students to interact with Mr. Katersky, but it was also a wonderful opportunity for the students to form better relationships amongst themselves and further strengthen the ties of The Ohio State’s risk community.

The mission of our student organization, the RMA, is to educate and advocate for future risk industry professionals. On behalf of my fellow students at the Ohio State University, I would like to thank the Spencer Foundation for helping us to pursue this mission and enabling us to offer such an incredibly enriching academic opportunity for our students. We look forward to continue furthering our mission by offering opportunities for our students to nurture their passion for risk management. We are hopeful that through our efforts, and with the support of organizations such as the Spencer Foundation and the OSU Risk Institute, we will make the Ohio State University the premier pipeline for successful risk industry professionals.

The Risk Management Association – A Bridge Between Students and Risk Professionals

Yuqi Wen 2016

By Yuqi Wen
Fisher College of Business
Class of 2016

 

In September 2012, I was a sophomore, and an email from one of my professors caught my attention. In the email, the professor pointed out the growing importance of the risk industry, and yet he lamented on the lack of a risk group at The Ohio State University serving as a professional organization for students. Several of my classmates and I responded to the challenge, and we partnered with The Risk Institute to build the Fisher College of Business chapter of Risk Management Association (RMA).

RMA

As a bridge between OSU students and risk management professionals, RMA aims to offer prospective graduates opportunities to connect with experienced risk practitioners as well as with public and private organizations operating in a world of continuous and unexpected risk. The reality is that risk management plays a significant role for every company’s sustainable development, and we hope our student organization can help bring best practices to light.

Our organization could not stand alone. We are blessed with the support of The Risk Institute, a consortium of leading academics and forward-thinking companies developing cutting-edge risk management practices. Through collaborations with The Risk Institute, our student members are granted exposure to new research along with a wide variety of prospective employers in the field.

To help advance students in their knowledge and in their involvement in the risk industry, RMA has hosted a series of guest speakers. Among the highlights from the last year are:

  • Greg Adams, director of management and financial reporting at AEP, who spoke on governance and culture
  • Jamie Jones, lead meteorologist at NetJets Aviation, Inc., who discussed weather disruption and its impact on the aviation industry
  • Helen Patton, OSU’s chief information security officer, who spoke about IT security
  • Donovan Gibson, vice president of analytics at JP Morgan Chase who spoke about the important role analytics plays in managing risk
  • Elizabeth Wilber, senior manager of advisory services at EY who spoke about how organizations can better manage and benefit from risk
yuqi wen pace setters 2016

Yuqi Wen was honored with a Pace Setters Award, the college’s top honor, in the spring of 2016.

A favorite event of the RMA students is The Risk Institute’s Annual Conference, held in the fall, in which members have the unique opportunity to volunteer and help coordinate the event. I have attended this conference the last two years, and I personally have benefited from the networking opportunities with faculty from other colleges within OSU and most importantly with industry leaders.

This spring, RMA also held a case simulation competition in which members worked together in teams to utilize their general business knowledge and risk management skills to propose the best solution to the given problem. The RMA’s year concluded with the Annual Banquet, which gave students networking opportunities with risk professionals while raising awareness of RMA and its goals.

My involvement in the RMA has enriched my college experience. Ultimately, it has helped deepen my understanding of risk beyond the classroom and advance my ability to solve problems and to conduct research on the risk industry.

Yuqi Wen served as president of the RMA during the 2015-2016 academic year, and will graduate from Fisher College of Business in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting and Finance.  She is an honor student, has been on the Dean’s List since December 2012, and a recipient of Fisher’s Pace Setters Award in 2016.  After graduation, Wen will begin her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers.