I was a junior in high school when my dad and I had one of those father and son conversations.

You know the one about what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to study mathematics, but wasn’t sure beyond that. My father asked if I had considered becoming an actuary. He worked at a large health insurance company and regularly interacted with actuaries, so he was familiar with what they did. I hadn’t even heard of actuaries, but I searched online and was sold.

After attending the University of South Carolina, where I majored in mathematics and statistics with an actuarial concentration, I discovered Cheiron through the Society of Actuaries’ database, interviewed, and joined the Charlotte, N.C. office in July 2012. While most of my friends and peers have switched jobs at least once if not more, I’m still here years later. I enjoy the work, the culture, and wonderful colleagues. The variety of work is satisfying and stretches me mentally.

In December 2020, during the Covid pandemic, my wife landed a job teaching at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, and we moved there the following summer. Cheiron earned a lot of loyalty from me for allowing me to move to Colorado and work remotely without having to jump through the many hoops that a larger company would have required.

While I can no longer pop into another consultant’s office to brainstorm, it’s a hallmark of Cheiron that even the most senior consultants are always accessible and ready to help.

As a consulting actuary, I regularly attend trustee meetings for my clients. It’s rewarding to meet them, hear about problems, and help develop solutions. Actuaries at Cheiron build connections so we can help our clients improve benefits for their membership—that’s ultimately where the work becomes more than just numbers.