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June 20, 2011

ULM student takes first step in path to new career field

It started out as a requirement for his college degree, but University of Louisiana at Monroe Risk Management and Insurance student Beaux Duhe ended up taking the first step in the path of his career in his summer internship.

Duhe, a junior from Houma, is interning this summer in Atlanta and Baton Rouge for Gresham & Associates.

The company, headquartered in Atlanta, is the ninth largest wholesale insurance broker in the country and one of the largest U.S. independent wholesale brokers.

Duhe heard about the internship through his advisor, Dr. Christine Berry, associate professor and director of the Insurance Studies program.

Berry received a call from Tony Gresham, President of Gresham and Associates, who was looking for a ULM RMI graduate to fill a full-time position in Baton Rouge.

The curriculum emphasizes the development of people skills and the unique fields of surplus lines and reinsurance.

After visiting with Berry, Gresham decided to create an internship at the brokerage for a ULM RMI major.

ULM’s RMI program is one of only two in the world that actually requires a course covering surplus lines and reinsurance in its curriculum.  

Gresham and Associates not only offered Duhe the internship, but also provided him housing while in Atlanta for five weeks.

Duhe’s housing in Atlanta is an apartment that overlooks the NASCAR racetrack and when he’s not working, Duhe occasionally watches trials from the convenience of his apartment.

Duhe said, “I know it’s early in my internship, but I now know that I want to be a surplus lines broker when I graduate.”  

On June 20, Duhe will relocate to the Baton Rouge office.

The ULM College of Business Internship Support fund, funded through the generosity of college alumni and friends, will help Duhe cover the cost of housing while in Baton Rouge.  

ULM’s RMI major has a mandatory internship requirement that students must complete as part of their curriculum.

Berry understands the importance of students being able to find their niche.

“Sometimes students discover through their internship that that job is not what they want to do and that’s okay,” she said.

 “But this is my favorite outcome, when a student finds the job of their dreams!” Berry concluded.

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