Senior finance major wins prestigous award

By Teri Olsen
Collegian Staff
April 4, 2007

Colette Nicoletto, senior finance major and risk management and insurance minor, was awarded the Anita Benedetti Student Involvement Award by the Risk and Insurance Management Society, which will send her to the Risk and Insurance Management Society’s Annual conference in New Orleans, April 29-May 4. “This is a great honor for Colette as well as La Salle University,” said Kathleen McNichol, the Coordinator of the Risk Management and Insurance Program and Nicoletto’s professor.  

McNichol nominated Nicoletto for the prestigious award. The Anita Benedetti Student Involvement Award selection committee looks for students with outstanding academic achievement. The student must have also have proven their leadership through extracurricular activities, currently be studying risk management and be interested in a career in the field. 

“Colette epitomizes the type of student whom the award targets,” McNichol said. “She has outstanding academic credentials, has demonstrated an interest in a career in risk management and insurance through her choice of minor and experiential education placements and is active on campus in various positions of leadership.”

“Colette is intellectually curious, and the opportunity to attend a full week of educational workshops and seminars will be a great benefit to her.  Being gregarious by nature, Colette will enjoy the interaction with students from around the country.”

Nicoletto had to submit an application along with a brief autobiography explaining what she hoped to accomplish at the conference and why she was interested in pursuing a career in risk management and insurance.

“I was so happy, especially because I really didn’t think I was going to hear back from them,” Nicoletto said about finding out she was chosen for the award. “It made me feel good as well because they said they received many applications from many different students, and I was one of the students chosen. I like knowing that I passed the screening process.”

While in New Orleans, Nicoletto will attend numerous educational seminars and get the chance to meet and network with other students and industry professionals.  

“From the conference I hope to learn valuable knowledge about the risk management community. In addition, I hope to strengthen my network of contacts and meet many new people,” Nicoletto said.

“Monday through Thursday I will be attending conference meetings, where I will learn about various different topics that are present within the risk management and insurance industry. I will learn about the strengths, weaknesses, concerns, challenges and innovations within the industry.”

Nicoletto was able to choose which seminars to attend and which guest speakers to hear from, since numerous seminars and speeches will be taking place simultaneously. She will also attend a student welcome reception, in addition to other student breakfasts and luncheons, set up to encourage interaction between the awardees.

Nicoletto will be flying out to New Orleans a few days early so she can help participate in a neighborhood clean-up day for Hurricane Katrina victims.

“I am so excited to do this because I have wanted to help in some way ever since the hurricane hit,” Nicoletto said.

The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of risk management. The society was started in 1950 and currently serves 10,000 professionals around the world.

The Anita Benedetti Student Involvement Program is named in honor of the late Anita Benedetti, the former Deputy Executive Director of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. Benedetti was also president of the Spencer Educational Foundation, Inc.

olsent1@lasalle.edu