In March, nine students from UNLV’s first insurance and risk management cohort stood before the board of the Nevada Surplus Lines Foundation. There were no slides or poster boards to make their case. Instead, one by one, they talked about what scholarship support had made possible for them — and what it could mean for the students who would follow.

They were among the first students to say yes to a degree Nevada had never offered before, and they came to ask for support for future students. Soon after, the foundation committed a new $2.6 million gift to UNLV for the Nevada Insurance Agents and Brokers Scholarship Fund. The gift builds on the foundation’s growing legacy of support and is expected to provide junior- and senior-year scholarships for at least 180 students over the next three cohorts.

The degree, housed in Lee Business School’s Department of Finance, is Nevada’s first undergraduate program in the field and one of few in the western region. Its first cohort includes 46 students pursuing UNLV’s Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Insurance and Risk Management.

The Nevada Surplus Lines Foundation has been instrumental from the beginning, helping establish the Kerestesi Center for Insurance and Risk Management at Lee Business School in 2023 and later funding scholarships and related support for the entire first cohort.

For one of those scholarship recipients, the nerves hit before she even entered the room. “When I stepped into the elevator to reach their floor, I remember feeling nervous for a moment,” Morgane Costa said. “But I took a breath and reminded myself that this was far bigger than me. I was not simply presenting for myself. I was helping secure opportunities for future students.”

Cole Fisher, an insurance and risk management major, added, “When I spoke to the foundation board, I wanted them to understand what the scholarship actually does for students. For me, it changed how much time I could focus on school, student organizations, and my future career.”

A Field Short on People

One of the biggest needs in insurance and risk management is talent. 

“Like many industries, we are experiencing a wave of retirements while demand for skilled professionals continues to grow,” said Justin Manning, COO and co-founder of Swarts Manning Insurance. “At the same time, many students simply are not aware that insurance and risk management is a dynamic, financially rewarding, and impactful career path.”

Until recently, Nevada students had limited pathways into insurance and risk management careers. And with close to half of current industry professionals expected to retire in the next decade, workforce demand is at an all-time high. UNLV built the state’s first undergraduate degree in the field to help address that gap. Its first cohort is already fast-tracking their careers through internships, employer events, conferences, and professional settings.

“As Southern Nevada continues to grow, developing talented professionals locally becomes increasingly important, and UNLV is playing a critical role in helping meet that need,” Manning said.

Nearly half of the students in the first cohort have already secured internships or industry experience across Nevada, California, Texas, Washington, and Arizona. Others are gaining exposure through employer events, conferences, and professional associations.

Students met with employers, alumni, and industry leaders while learning what the work looks like in underwriting, brokerage, claims, risk consulting, and compliance.

For Sebastian Kalandos, WSIA helped make the range of the field clearer. “It showed me how many opportunities exist within insurance. Learning about each path helped me understand what I want to pursue.”

Through conferences, associations, and professional events, students are connecting with employers, alumni, and industry leaders in the insurance and risk management field.

• Gamma Iota Sigma
• RISKWORLD
• RIMS Western Regional
• WSIA Chicago Symposium
• WSIA Extreme Risk Takers Symposium
• PRIMA’s 2026 Annual Conference
• The Drake Symposium
• URMIA Conferences
• Las Vegas CPCU Society
• Nevada Chapter of RIMS
• Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada

Seeing It Differently

Costa came to Lee Business School focused on international business and later added insurance only after seeing how tightly the field connects to global markets and regulation. “Before joining the program, my understanding of insurance was honestly very limited,” she said. “I thought mainly about auto, medical, life insurance — areas that rarely carry excitement or aspiration in the public imagination.”

The more she learned, the more the field opened up. The work turned up in finance, real estate, data analytics, and global markets regulation. Fisher saw the same thing. “Insurance touches so many parts of the economy,” he said. “There are so many subsections that there is a job for almost any personality or skill set.”

Kalandos’s 'a-ha' moment came when his Finance 420: Property and Liability Insurance class discussed cyber insurance: “That was the moment it clicked for me,” Kalandos said. “I understood the terms, and I could actually see myself in this field.”

Some students came to the major through finance, others through international business, real estate, entrepreneurship, or law-related pathways. “This cohort is powerful precisely because we all come from different backgrounds,” Costa said. “Different stories create different ways of thinking, and when those perspectives come together, the possibilities become almost limitless.”

This summer, she landed an internship with the Surplus Line Association of California, which connects directly to the markets-and-regulation work she wants to build her career around. “What interests me most is that the field goes far beyond policies alone,” Costa said. “It sits at the intersection of law, markets, regulation, risk, and global economic movement, which naturally connects to the kind of future I envision for myself.”

Fisher said seeing the field up close made the major easier to understand: “Once students see insurance for what it actually is, it becomes much easier to see how the major connects to so many professions.” 

What Employers See

As an employer concerned with staffing his company, Manning recognizes that “most people do not grow up wanting to work in insurance, but many who discover it build rewarding careers and never leave.”

Scott Kerestesi, chief executive officer of Cragin & Pike, puts it plainly. “We are finance's hidden gem,” Kerestesi said. “It's an industry that is vital to the economy and makes a difference in people's lives. We are there when someone has had their worst day, and we try to get them back to where they were before that day happened.”

These employers note that their engagement with UNLV has helped them discover the students’ professionalism, work ethic, and maturity, traits they seek in prospective employees. “Their curiosity and willingness to learn are contagious, and our team genuinely enjoys mentoring them and helping them understand the industry,” Manning said. “While we hope they learn from us, the truth is that we learn from them as well.”

Kerestesi added, “Every time I spend time with them, I'm genuinely blown away. They are intelligent, hard-working students who are going to be really successful.”

Students in the first insurance and risk management cohort have secured internships or industry experience with organizations, including:

• Swarts Manning
• Cragin & Pike
• Nevada National Security Site
• Ryan Specialty
• Nautilus Insurance
• Guy Carpenter
• Surplus Line Association of California

The Next 180

Returning to the gift announcement, Costa says the $2.6 million donation is even bigger than its hefty dollar figure. “It gives students the ability to think beyond survival and toward possibility,” she said.

Fisher says scholarship has changed how involved he can be as a student. “I had to work 30-plus hours a week to pay for my tuition, which impacted a lot of what I could do at UNLV,” he said. “In my first year, I never got to join a student organization or attend any events. With the scholarship, I was able to reduce my working hours and focus that time and energy into my future career. I’m now in five student organizations.”

The board presentation carried three layers, according to Costa: “For myself, because every first impression carries your own name, your story, and the way you choose to represent yourself. For my cohort, because I was advocating for people I deeply believe in. And for future students, because what we are building will continue long after we graduate.”