The Actuarial Foundation announces the finalists for the 2020 Modeling the Future Challenge

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., March 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Actuarial Foundation is proud to announce the finalists in the 2020 Modeling the Future Challenge, a national scholarship competition aimed at introducing the actuarial profession to high school students. Selected from a total of 170 teams of high school juniors and seniors from across the country, the 2020 Modeling the Future Challenge finalists are; Parth Asawa, Brandon Guo, Richard Liu and Eric Zhang from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California; Gustav Hansen, Emily Jiang and Jason Yan with no school affiliation from Lincroft, New Jersey; William Hu, Catherine Kim, Edgar Ma, Ethan Zhang and Katherine Zhang from Jericho High School in Jericho, New York; Derek Chen, Nitin Kumar,  Arjun Patrawala, Henry Wang and Tony Xin from Mountain View High School in Mountain View, California; Elizabeth Kujawa,  Carol Liu, Andre Nandi and Kristen Si from Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago, Illinois; Charlotte Borchards, Cole Kissane, Kevin Zhang and Zachary Zitzewitz from Proof School in San Francisco, California; Nafeesa Karim, Shravani Khisti, Anastacia Son and Amrita Vinjamury from Whitney High School in Cerritos, California; Bicker Forrest and Eszter Morvay from Hunter College High School in New York, New York; Agnim Agarwal from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina; Barry Connor, Elle Samples, Emma Shephard and Eve Wiltse from Waukee APEX in Waukee, Iowa; Brian Lin, George Lyu , Kevin Sun, Andrew Yang and Audrey Yang from Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota.

The theme for the 2019-2020 Modeling the Future Challenge is Agriculture, Water and Climate Change. Teams were tasked with analyzing historic data and making models to project how changes to climate and water access could affect the agricultural industry in their selected region of the country.  They also had to make recommendations on how industry and government  entities can respond to mitigate and manage the potential risks. Teams had to first pass a qualifying round of scenario response topics to demonstrate their mathematical acumen. Ninety-eight semi-finalist teams were then paired with actuary mentors who helped guide the students as they conducted research, data analysis and drafted their final papers.

In designing the Challenge, the Foundation and its partner, the Institute of Competition Sciences, wanted students to learn how mathematics applies to cutting-edge industries and technologies and to gain exposure to highly sought-after careers as actuaries and other math-related professionals.  "I'm excited about the Modeling the Future Challenge because it is really the key for what actuaries do, and in fact, is what is needed to solve a lot of problems that come up frequently in society. The Actuarial Foundation has really created an opportunity here  for students to see how  they can use their mathematical skills and their modeling skills along with their imaginations to affect change in public policy and society," said Roy Goldman, FSA, MAAA, CERA, Trustee of The Actuarial Foundation and Founder of the Modeling the Future Challenge.

The eleven finalist teams will travel to the Modeling the Future Symposium in Chicago to present their models of the future to a panel of actuaries for the opportunity to win up to $55,000 in scholarship awards. The Symposium, currently being rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will give finalists the chance to meet with actuaries, learn about college and career opportunities, and explore the city. 

The Modeling the Future Challenge is made possible with the generous support of National Sponsor Roy and Georgia Goldman, Champion Sponsor Robert V. Deutsch, Champion Sponsor RGA and Event Sponsor Rick and Beth Jones.  

About The Actuarial Foundation
The Actuarial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, is the philanthropic institution of the industry in the United States. Since 1994, the Foundation has promoted lifelong math education and financial literacy through its learning resources and scholarships. The mission of the Foundation is to enhance math education and financial literacy through the talents and resources of actuaries. The Foundation's vision is an educated public in pursuit of a secure financial future. For more information, please visit www.actuarialfoundation.org 

About the Institute of Competition Sciences
Since 2012, the Institute of Competition Sciences (ICS) has been defining best practices in competition strategy, design and operations. ICS aims to spark a new level of community engagement in science, technology and education by supporting a network of educational competitions. For more information, please visit www.competitionsciences.org 

Contact: Holly Monahan
The Actuarial Foundation
Phone: (847) 706-3659
Email: Holly.Monahan@actfnd.org

SOURCE The Actuarial Foundation

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