The Council Foundation awarded $400,000 in academic scholarships to more than 80 interns placed at member firms in 2024, representing a record award level for the program. The scholarships support college students pursuing careers in commercial insurance brokerage, helping member firms attract and develop the next generation of talent. The program has now distributed millions of dollars in scholarships to hundreds of students across the country.
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Contact: Nicole Vasile
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
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THE COUNCIL FOUNDATION AWARDS $400,000 IN ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS TO 80+ INTERNS AT MEMBER FIRMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Council Foundation announced today that it is awarding $400,000 in academic scholarships to 83 college students interested in pursuing careers in insurance brokerage (full list below). Each intern selected will receive between $2,500 and $5,000 toward their college education. Since 2017, The Council Foundation Scholarship program has awarded more than $3.2 million to 648 interns.
“It’s so important that we continue to open doors for students without exposure to our industry, and potentially change their perception of what a career in insurance may look like,” said Joel Wood, President/CEO of The Council. “These interns have proven themselves to be top performers at some of the most successful firms in the world. They should be very proud of what they’ve accomplished, and we hope this is the beginning of a life-long career in insurance brokerage.”
The mission of The Council Foundation is to bring fresh, diverse talent into the brokerage sector. The scholarship program is a partnership between the Foundation and leaders of internship programs at Council member firms. Member firms conduct their own review process and identify their most exceptional interns to be awarded the scholarship, with the goal of eventually bringing these students on full-time and/or retaining them in the commercial insurance brokerage sector.
“Our internship resources are designed to complement and enhance our members’ existing internship programs,” said Elizabeth McDaid, Council Foundation EVP. “We have a self-paced, 6-week, virtual course that provides students with a foundational knowledge of our industry and the role it plays in the economy. And we have our Scholarship program, which allows our members to build on their relationships with top-performers and hopefully keep that talent within our community.”
Six of this year’s recipients have also been honored by named scholarships (*) administered by The Council Foundation – Jack Smith, Assurex Robert P. Ashlock scholar, Eva Winn, Assurex Game Changer scholar, Andrew Hull, IMA Financial Group scholar, Alex Madson, Franklin Wheeler scholar, Alexis Sanchez, Dave Oberkircher scholar, and Jackie Lawrence, Tom Motamed scholar.
Founded in 1913 and based in Washington, D.C., The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers is the premier association for the top 170 regional, national and international commercial property/casualty insurance and employee benefits intermediaries worldwide. Council members are market leaders who annually place 90 percent of U.S. commercial P/C premiums and 70 percent of all employee benefits business. The Council’s Government Affairs team represents our member firms with a strong, unified voice on Capitol Hill and within the regulatory space. CouncilPAC, The Council’s political action committee, consistently maintains its position as the leading PAC in the insurance industry. In addition to providing best-in-class talent development resources through The Council Academy and publishing Leader’s Edge, an award-winning industry content platform, The Council hosts two marquis events for our membership and their carriers and strategic partners – the Insurance Leadership Forum for the commercial P/C sector and the Employee Benefits Leadership Forum for EB executives.
