APIW Memorial Scholarships

Giving back to the industry

Each year since 1987, APIW has awarded scholarships to worthy students at The College of Insurance, now St. John’s University, the School of Risk Management. In the latter years, these were given under the name “Lana James Memorial Scholarship,” in honor of a dedicated APIW volunteer and Board Member who died prematurely in 1992. Additional scholarships were also given on behalf of our Chicago Network to the Katie Insurance School of Illinois.

The tragic events of September 11th brought about our desire to create a symbolic and encompassing remembrance. We wished to honor all those within the APIW family who were lost that day and remember those members who have lost their lives prematurely.

In their memory, APIW’s scholarships are now given under the name “APIW Memorial Scholarship” at St. John’s University and the “APIW Lana James Memorial Scholarship” at the Katie School of Insurance.

2019 Scholarship Recipients

APIW 2019 Memorial Scholarship Recipient
Katherine Ross

Katherine Ross is a rising senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Risk & Insurance with minors in Business Analytics and Social Justice at St. John’s University. During the summer of 2018 and the 2018-2019 school
year, she worked as a Loss Control Intern at Greater New York Insurance Company. This summer she is interning at Swiss Re in their Armonk office within their Financial Credit Risk Management department.

During the 2018-2019 school year, Katherine served as the Director of Community Outreach for the Gamma
Iota Sigma, Alpha Iota chapter at St. John’s, and now serves as the chapter’s President which will continue
into the 2019-2020 school year. She also serves on the GIS Grand Chapter’s GammaSAID (Solutions for
Authenticity, Inclusion, and Diversity) council where she presents at conferences, helps chapters plan and facilitate diversity and inclusion events on their campuses, as well as promotes the conversation within the industry. This past school year she served as the President of the Chamber Music Society where she plays violin. Katherine is also a scholar within the Ozanam Scholars Program, which is a 4-year social justice based scholarship program at St. John’s that focuses on Vincentain servitude, global citizenship, and academic scholarship.

APIW 2019 Lana James Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Erika Sreenan

Erika Sreenan will be a senior at the Katie School of Insurance and Risk Management at Illinois State University majoring in Risk Management & Insurance – Business Information Systems Sequence with a 3.71 GPA. She has interned at American Family Insurance in Madison, WI as a Property Claims Desk Adjuster and at United Technologies Corporation Aerospace Systems as a Supplier Management Intern. She was one of two students selected for the Katie School International Internship Program in summer 2019 that will allow her to spend four weeks in Zurich, Switzerland to be immersed in a global insurance and reinsurance marketplace. Upon her return from Switzerland, she will be a WSIA intern in both Scottsdale and Los Angeles. She is currently completing two parts of the CPCU professional designation, and she is continuing her goal of completing the eight exams.

During this past year, Erika attended the Gamma Iota Sigma Leadership Conference, the Gamma Iota Sigma International Conference, the Chicagoland Risk Forum, the Katie School Insurance Executive Forum, the Katie School Hall of Fame Dinner and the Alpha Gamma Delta Convention. She is currently the secretary of the Alpha Kappa Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma and is very actively involved. She is also Vice President of Member Experience for Alpha Gamma Delta, past Director of Fundraising for Women in Business, and a member of the ISU Women’s Club Rugby team. She has been an organizer and volunteer for American Red Cross, Valentines for Veterans and Midwest Food Bank.