Recounts Experience and Celebrates Opportunity at Ceremony with
Graduates of Travelers’ Signature Education Program
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 17, 2012--
Six years ago, Lorena Martinez arrived in Hartford seeking opportunity.
A native of Peru, able to speak little English, Martinez found
employment with a local hotel. While there, Martinez quickly realized
the barriers she faced in getting ahead without broader language skills
– and a college education.
Motivated and undeterred, Martinez sought opportunities to learn
English. While enrolled in an ESL course, Martinez inquired about
Capital Community College’s Crossroads to Careers (C3) Program, a
partner of Travelers’ signature education initiative, Travelers EDGE:
Empowering Dreams for Graduation and Employment. This partnership would
become Martinez’s entrée into the insurance and financial services
world, ultimately leading to a position in Travelers’ highly competitive
Underwriting Professional Development Program.
“I remember telling a friend that I wish I’d be given an opportunity,
because I knew if I knew I had one, I could succeed,” said Martinez,
whose first language is Spanish and now speaks English fluently. “Today,
my peers and I celebrated not only our graduation from the Travelers
EDGE program, but also the opportunities and success that Travelers has
afforded us. Like the other students, I realized I could do much more
and am so proud that Travelers gave me that courage and practical
real-world experience to achieve my dreams.”
Martinez spoke at the company’s second annual Travelers EDGE graduation
held at the Society Room in Hartford. This year, the company recognized
Connecticut and Maryland scholars who are graduating with an associate’s
or bachelor’s degree from one of four partner institutions: University
of Connecticut, Central Connecticut State University, Capital Community
College, and Morgan State University. At the ceremony, Travelers also
inducted for the first time 11 high school seniors into the Travelers
EDGE program, extending the company’s support of individual students
sooner in the educational timeline.
While interning at Travelers, Martinez spent time in the company’s Human
Resources, Business Insurance and Bond & Financial Products groups.
Along with her peers, she was assigned an executive mentor; in
Martinez’s case, Diane Bengston, Travelers Senior Vice President of
Human Resources and Alexia Cruz, Vice President - Subrogation Complex
Claim and Major Case Unit. In reflecting on her journey, Martinez
recalled the critical support and advice Bengston provided. Martinez
graduated in late 2011 from Central Connecticut State University and
began her new position in March as an underwriting development
professional in Travelers’ Hunt Valley, Md., office.
Bengston reiterated the company’s commitment to doing right in the
community: “We couldn’t be more proud of Lorena and all of our Travelers
EDGE Scholars. The program is an incredibly rewarding journey for all of
us—students, Travelers employees, professors and others from our partner
organizations—seeing their success brings the true impact of this
program to light for me and all of my colleagues at Travelers.”
Senior representatives from all four partner post-secondary institutions
attended the graduation, including Wilfredo Nieves, President, Capital
Community College; Cathy Zizka, C3 Program Manager, Capital Community
College; Jack Miller, President, Central Connecticut State University;
David Fearon, Program Manager, Central Connecticut State University;
Wayne Locust, Vice President, Enrolling Planning & Management,
President's Office, University of Connecticut; Seanice Austin, Program
Manager, University of Connecticut; Cheryl Hitchcock, Vice President of
Institutional Advancement, Morgan State University.
In addition to Martinez, the following students graduated as part of the
Travelers EDGE program:
-
Capital Community College: Pranaya Bhattarai, Jeff DiBona,
Richard Hernandez, Chia Kang “CK” Wang
-
Central Connecticut State University: Cesar Delgado, Roshawn
Finn, Lorena Martinez, Chadia Parnell, Jessica Ugbo
-
University of Connecticut: Matthew Kim, Jason Mikesell, Aaron
Oommen, Melissa Rodriguez, James Wu-Ea
-
Morgan State University: Tiara Colbert, Jacqueline Snipes,
Peter Sweet Jr.
Travelers EDGE is the company’s signature education program that aims to
increase the number of underrepresented individuals who complete a
bachelor’s degree and are prepared for a career at Travelers or within
the IFS industry.
About Travelers
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of
property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. A component of
the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has more than 30,000
employees and generated revenues of approximately $25 billion in 2011.
The company provides support for charitable organizations in the
community through the Travelers Foundation and with corporate funding.
The company’s community giving is focused on education, community
development and the arts. Travelers employees are consistently active in
community initiatives and perform thousands of hours in volunteer time
each year. For more information, visit www.travelers.com.
Source: Travelers Companies, Inc.
Travelers Companies, Inc.
Ashley Maagero, 860-277-2954
amaagero@travelers.com