Rising Matadors

Alec Plotkin, a Matador who graduated as a Financial Analysis major in 2019, brought his passion for wholesale insurance back to the campus (11/15/23).

Nothing feels better than having a recent alum back in the classroom as a guest speaker who spoke to students about the early chapters of his career at Brown & Riding after CSUN.

Alec made some students more engaged in learning about RMI career opportunities than what I lectured in this class.

His well-designed PPT slides are a testament to his professional accomplishments out of CSUN.

Alec was one of six CSUN students who were funded by LA RIMS Scholarships to attend the RIMS conference in Boston in 2019. He particularly indicated his appreciation for this scholarship in his presentation.

The webpage "Rising Matadors" was inspired by the LA RIMS Rising Risk Professionals (hashtag#larimsrrp) group, which members made possible nine RMI career seminars at CSUN, 2018 - 2021.

Thanks to those participating RRPs who paved the way for the debut of "Rising Matadors."

Feel free to leave feedback on LinkedIn. 

Below are some of Alec's replies to students' questions via emails after his visit. 

• Insurance doesn’t get talked about enough, but it’s a huge industry and there are so many different career paths. Agents, Brokers, Underwriters, Actuaries, Producers, Servicers, Account Executives, Account Managers, Property and Casualty, Life and Health, Re-insurers, Captives,  etc., the possibilities are endless. 
  
• Wholesale insurance is a complex and challenging, yet highly rewarding industry.
• My biggest piece of advice would be to create as complete a LinkedIn profile as you can. LinkedIn is really underrated but is the best place for recruiters to find you and trust me, they will. A nice bio with a mission statement, all relevant coursework, and filling out the skills section will go a long way. I tell everyone to really utilize LinkedIn.
• We’re currently in a hard market, and that’s something each and every insurance professional has to navigate within the scope of their own work. Premiums and deductibles are increasing while the limits are decreasing. The coverages are getting tighter, there’s less wiggle room, and the carriers are really constricting their appetites. While this is a challenging time to enter the industry, I’d also argue that there’s never been a better time. Learning the hard market can provide a really solid foundation with skills that will take you far in your career. I entered the industry as the market had already begun to harden, and I can honestly say that I feel better off for it.
• That being said, insurance companies on all sides are hiring at a rapid pace, for various reasons. They want fresh faces that are self-motivated, driven, are able to learn and adapt quickly, and are diligent in their work.
• A can-do attitude and smiling face will take you far, as well. There are many agents and underwriters that I work with that can be rough around the edges and although I take my work VERY seriously, I take a more light-hearted approach to the difficult conversations. I’ve found that projecting positivity is especially important in situations where you’re providing information that isn’t necessarily positive. This aura of positivity and lightheartedness mixed with confidence and a can-do attitude is important to establish in the interview and leaves a really good first impression with the interviewer.  

  Alec's photos of attending the RIMS conference in Boston 2019 can be viewed at the photo gallery.     

 Below is another Alec's photo in 2018 while he was a senior at CSUN in 2018. 

Manny Chavez, President of the LA RIMS Chapter (first from left), surprised CSUN students and Dr. Mu-Sheng Chang with a $10,000 donation at its holiday party at Woodland Hills Country Club, CA (Dec. 13, 2018).

Hillary Stargardter,  a recent CSUN alum, came back to her alma mater as a guest speaker (3/30/23).

Just six years into the insurance profession, she shared with Matadors-in-progress her stories of making transitions from a college student to an AVP at RT Specialty.

This company gave her a chance to develop her talent fully. Her hard work paid off, and she is making CSUN shine!

Hillary was one of the 2017 LA RIMS scholarship recipients at CSUN who were funded to attend the RIMS conference in Philly. She was very grateful for this award.

Hillary attended the RIMS 2017 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA (Apr. 23-26, 2017).