Meet Madison Longmire, originally from the Annapolis Valley. She was attracted to Dalhousie’s campus in the heart of Halifax, wanting to explore city life. When it came to selecting a program, the mandatory co-op component of the Bachelor of Commerce Co-op program was the main selling point for her. She felt it would allow her to be more dynamic and adaptive as a professional while making connections. Madison graduated in 2019 with a major in Accounting, a path she chose because she loved the idea of dealing with numbers, financial analysis, and the wide variety of careers that are available in the field.

Madison accepted a different role for each of her three co-ops, which gave her the chance to be challenged in distinct ways. For her first co-op, she worked alongside Actuaries, an area that interested her at the time. During the co-op however, Madison realized she could no longer see herself working in that role long term. “This was a tough realization to make, especially for my first co-op, but I can see now how valuable this insight was, and without the co-op program I would not have had the opportunity to come to this conclusion in my second year of university,” she says.

Madison’s second co-op was in the billing department of a healthcare organization, providing opportunities to develop her interpersonal skills. “I spent a large portion of my time speaking with different individuals on the phone, which at the beginning was quite intimidating, but became much easier over time,” she says. For her final co-op, she worked as an Underwriting Assistant. “I had very surface level knowledge of what underwriting entailed, but this co-op was able to change my perspective on what risk management and risk analysis really meant and its importance.”

Madison is currently an Underwriter for Trisura’s Executive Solutions. “Underwriting requires assessing risk for different factors of a business. I spend most of my days analyzing companies’ financial statements, executives, and business practices and then building insurance policies surrounding their risks and exposure points,” she says. She is enjoying her time working with a wide range of businesses and gathering knowledge across many industries. “A career path with opportunity to grow was also of utmost importance to me. I saw there was a need for young leaders in the industry and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me.”

Madison describes Trisura as a company that is rapidly growing and expanding their team across Canada and the US. “Despite growth, Trisura continues to still have that small company feel where your worth is valued and your achievements are recognized,” she says. “Trisura prides itself on promoting entrepreneurial mindset among all employees and allows underwriters think outside of the box and provide non-conventional solutions, which can be tough to find in the industry.”

Madison’s advice for you:

• Keep in contact with your connections, they can be very helpful when looking for opportunities.
• Everyone’s career path is different. Explore your options. Explore your network.

Pronouns: she/her