Bryan students take part in data analysis, risk management workshop at Trine

Thirty students from Bryan High School in northwest Ohio took part in a workshop on data analysis and risk management at Trine University’s Angola campus on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

The workshop was sponsored by Trine’s actuarial science major, in partnership with the Modeling the Future Challenge (MTFC).

Julie Cummins, Bryan High School teacher, said the workshop was a good way to get her students on a college campus and learn more about career opportunities in mathematics.

“A lot of them are college-bound and considering Trine,” she said. “They can see what college life is like. They can see what kind of opportunities are out there in math field.”

“Often when you think of math, you think of engineering. This lets kids know there are other things you can do with a passion in math.”

“Actuarial science is about using mathematics to manage risk,” said Michael Smith, assistant professor of mathematics and actuarial science at Trine. “The high school students learn to think the way actuaries do with the help of some of our current actuarial science majors. This not only benefits the high school students, it’s a great chance for our current students to practice what they’ve learned at Trine by teaching it to the next generation of actuaries.”

The MTFC is an academic competition by The Actuarial Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to changing lives through math education, and managed by the Institute of Competition Sciences. Currently involving about 600-700 high school students each year, the event seeks to increase engagement with and awareness of actuarial science, data science and mathematical modeling among high school students, teachers and the general public.

Trine University, which launched its Bachelor of Science in actuarial science degree program in 2020, is one of 13 college and university partners for the MTFC.