As a volunteer tutor for The Actuarial Foundation’s Math Motivators program, Dylan Richelmann has not only found joy in helping high school students learn math, but he has also gained valuable experience that he can utilize in his future actuarial career.

Richelmann, an actuarial science major at the University of Connecticut (UConn) who plans to graduate in May 2019, understands that communication will be a key skill when he becomes an actuary. Tutoring high school students has helped him develop this skill and prepare him for discussing math with people in a more relatable way.

“Working with these kids who don’t really understand some of the topics, you’re able to help teach someone math that they’re not really comfortable with,” Richelmann says. “As an actuary, you’re working with a lot of different people—whether that be underwriters or people in sales or claims—and trying to explain a really complicated topic. They don’t have the same education as you had becoming an actuary, so you need to be able to take a step back and explain to them what’s going on in a less-technical way.”

Richelmann learned about Math Motivators through one of his UConn professors and, so far, he has taught AP calculus and statistics, SAT math and geometry to high school students. He has enjoyed being able to get to know students over the course of a semester: their strengths and weaknesses, math needs, goals and who they are as people. He’s also a big supporter of the program because it provides supplemental education to students who otherwise couldn’t afford it.

“I just love being around the kids and helping them,” he says. “They’re really grateful for us coming down and [tutoring them] for free. So, just reaching out to them—seeing them smile and flourish—is really why I do this.”

As the lead sponsor of Math Motivators, the Society of Actuaries has generously offered to match any contribution its members make to the program from April 1 through Sept. 1, 2018, up to US$62,500. That means until Sept. 1, SOA members’ gifts to the Math Motivators program will double—$25 will become $50, and $100 will become $200. This is a great way to give low-income high schools students the opportunity to improve their math skills while advancing awareness and appreciation for the actuarial profession.