When Steve Gama joined College Possible Chicago as a high school junior, he could have never imagined he would be graduating from college six years later with a competitive position in his chosen field. Despite being an honors student at Kelly High School, Steve thought a college education would be too expensive and planned to learn a trade instead. No one in his family had attended college, and he wasn’t aware of the plethora of scholarship opportunities that were available.
Steve credits his College Possible coach, Cecily, for opening his eyes. She encouraged him to pursue his dreams of attending college and apply for as many scholarships as he could, helping him write and rewrite countless application essays. When Steve worried that he would struggle in college, Cecily reassured him that he was capable and would do great work. “Regardless of the different obstacles I faced, I always felt like I had someone backing me up,” Steve says, “and that was Cecily.”
Steve eventually chose to attend St. Olaf College in Minnesota, in part because of the school’s highly ranked study abroad program, which Cecily had told him was a highlight of her college experience. As a math major at St. Olaf, he learned one of his career options was becoming an actuary, a position specializing in risk assessment. Steve was initially deterred from this path after learning of the many exams required to become certified. A conversation with a peer while studying abroad in Seville, Spain changed his mind. When he returned, he began preparing. “I was inside that whole semester, studying nonstop,” Steve says. “Passing my exam was definitely one of the most rewarding moments of college.”
Last year, Steve took part in College Possible Chicago’s professional mentorship program in hopes of getting some additional career guidance. “It was great to meet Steve and help him make connections in his field of interest,” his mentor Bruce says. “He’s an incredibly talented young person with a bright future ahead of him.”
Bruce encouraged him to build his professional network and put himself out there, so when Steve joined the Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA), he began making connections. “I wasn’t afraid to reach out to different people and ask, ‘Is your company hiring? Do you know someone at this company? Can you put in a good word for me?’
When Steve saw a job posting at Liberty Mutual, he quickly reached out to his OLA network to see if anyone had contacts there. He was put in touch with someone at the company and aced his first interview. Upon being invited for a final round interview, Steve spent two weeks preparing, practicing with friends and studying technical aspects of the position. “When I was in the interview, I felt super ready,” Steve reflects. “That was on Friday, and on Monday, I got a call that I got the job. I was ecstatic.”
Steve graduated from St. Olaf this spring, and this summer, he’s entering Liberty Mutual’s 4.5-year Actuarial Development Program, during which he will rotate through departments to get an overview of disciplines in the field. He will continue to study for and take actuary exams, with Liberty covering the cost. By the end of the program, Steve will be a credentialed actuary. “I don’t know what I thought I would be doing after graduation,” he says, “but coming from a low-income family and now making double what my parents make—straight out of college—it feels surreal.”
Steve encourages other first-generation college students to take advantage of the resources and people available to guide them. “There’s a lot of people that want to help you. Finding that support along your journey will give you confidence that you can do it.”
