Women Leadership Day 2023

Four past WLI scholarship winners join current WLI leaders with a scholarship check presented to EKU RMI for the WLI Endowed Scholarship.  Front row, left to right are Mary Robinson (current EKU RMI major), Lindsay Boone (2019 EKU RMI graduate), Cassie Woosley (2020 EKU RMI graduate), and Brynne Galloway (current EKU RMI major).  Back row, left to right are Teri Ralston (ClearPath Mutual), Kathy Davis (Allstate), Cheryl Hoffer (KEMI), and Malissa Worrell (KEMI).

Women Leadership Day 2023 Recap

Women Leadership Day 2023, co-presented by Women Leaders in the Insurance and EKU’s RMI Program, provided EKU students with opportunities to network with employers, listen to interesting and informative speakers, and to win some fun door prizes.  The event also included a special check presentation, as Women Leaders donated $5,000 to their Women Leaders in Insurance Endowed Scholarship at EKU.  The award helps build their already generous endowment, supporting annual scholarship to qualifying EKU RMI Majors.

Held February 21, 2023, the event began with a career fair, where EKU students had the opportunity to visit with representatives of AssuredPartners, Auto-Owners Insurance Company,

Big I Kentucky, ClearPath Mutual, Comparion Insurance Agency, Core Specialty, Enterprise Rent a Car, Erie Insurance, Great American Insurance Group, Houchens Insurance Group USA, Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance, Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance, Risk Placement Services, Shelter Insurance, Shepherd Insurance, and The Cincinnati Insurance Companies.  Employers talked to students about jobs, internships, and gave our students a chance to network in a professional setting.

Next, Tara Purvis, President and CEO of the Big I of Kentucky delivered an interactive, fun, and informative keynote speech about the many lucrative opportunities available within the insurance industry.  Following her remarks, panelists Katy Grachek, and EKU RMI alums Lindsay Boone (2019) and Cassie Woosley (2020) talked about their respective careers and dispensed advice about lessons learned early in their careers. 

After the scholarship check presentation, door prize drawings commenced.  Among the prizes were gift cards donated by Allstate, AssuredPartners, Big I Kentucky, Cincinnati Insurance, ClearPath Mutual, Houchens Insurance Group, Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance (KEMI), Risk Placement Services (RPS), SECURA, and Summit Consulting.  Their generous support helped make the day more fun for all of the participants!

With a focus on empowering Women, the organization Women Leaders in Insurance (WLI) provides educational and networking opportunities for its many members.  Their endowed scholarship at EKU, established in 2017, generates interest income that is awarded to EKU students studying Risk Management and Insurance, making a difference in these students’ lives, and eventually, for the employers where they work after they graduate.  For more information about WLI, please e-Mail info@wliconference.com.

Thanks to the planning committee of Melissa Worrell and Cheryl Hoffer from Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance (KEMI), and Siwei Gao, Debbie Ellis, Brynne Galloway, Lisa Gardner, and Mary Robinson, from EKU’s RMI Program, and to the many students and industry professionals who attended.

If you would like to support the WLI Endowed Scholarship, go to this website: https://www.alumni.eku.edu/s/1763/wide.aspx?sid=1763&gid=2&pgid=1500  and click on “Make a Gift”, then “View All Giving Opportunities”, then scroll down to “College of Business Scholarships”, and select “Women Leaders in Insurance & Financial Services Endowed Scholarship”, and “Continue”.  Your donation helps support EKU RMI students in perpetuity, and is tax deductible.

Published on March 02, 2023