February 6, 2023 • 38 mins
In this episode, ADJUSTED welcomes Luella Alcorn, Business Operations Manager, Luke Lenihan, Associate Underwriter, and Tristan King, Business Engagement Intern. Luella, Luke, and Tristan discuss why internships are a great option for both students and companies.
Season 5 is brought to you by Berkley Industrial Comp. This episode is hosted by Greg Hamlin.
Comments and Feedback? Let us know at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F5GCHWH
Visit the Berkley Industrial Comp blog for more!
Got questions? Send them to marketing@berkindcomp.com
For music inquiries, contact Cameron Runyan at camrunyan9@gmail.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Greg Hamlin (00:12):
Hello everybody and welcome to adjust it. I'm your
host Greg Hamlin coming at youfrom beautiful Birmingham,
Alabama and Berkeley industrialcomp. And with me today are a
whole host of guests. So we havethree guests today. So it's
gonna be a fun podcast episode.
We'll start with you. Luella. Doyou want to introduce yourself?
Luella Alcorn (00:32):
Yes, well, alicorn I am out of our
Lexington Kentucky Office. I amBusiness Operations Manager here
at Berkley industrial calm.
Greg Hamlin (00:40):
Excellent. And then next up, we have Luke Luke, do
you want to introduce yourself?
Luke Lenihan (00:45):
Yes. Hi, everyone.
Happy New Year was Greg said myname is Luke Lenahan. My
associate underwriter theLexington office and started as
an intern last January.
Greg Hamlin (00:56):
Excellent. And I won't hold it against you look
that you graduated fromUniversity of Kentucky since I'm
an Indiana grad. But we're bothhaving very difficult basketball
years right now. So yes,definitely. We can share in our
misery, right? Yes, absolutely.
And the only difference is wedon't have a lifetime contract
on our coach. So unfortunately,hopefully they get things turned
around there for you guys. Yeah.
(01:16):
All right. And finally, our nextguest. Tristan, you want to
introduce yourself
Tristen King (01:21):
Glad to be here today, Greg. I'm Tristan King
out of the Birmingham office.
I'm currently a finance studentat UAB. And I've been with
Berkeley industrial comm for alittle over a year now.
Greg Hamlin (01:30):
Excellent. Well, I wanted to get this group
together. One thing we have nottalked about in any of the
episodes is the power ofinternships. And this is
something that's really near anddear to my heart. I started my
career at Indiana University,and actually was a student
manager have a telephone. So Istarted actually doing
(01:52):
fundraising over the phone andthen became a student manager
much like both of their stories.
I don't think it was labeled asan internship. But really, it
works the same way. And Iremember in my interview
process, the time when I wasgetting ready to start my career
after graduation, they hadinterviewed me and said, you
know, we interviewed forbusiness majors, you're the only
criminal justice major, whyshould we hire you? And I said,
(02:13):
Well, easy. One is I alreadyhave work experience in the
business world doing fundraisingover the phone. And I understand
statistics. And I know how torun metrics in computer systems.
And I know how to manage a roomand I've had leadership
experience. So all those things.
And I said, I have a differentbackground and criminal justice,
(02:34):
which gives me a differentbackground going into claim. So
I don't know if that's what gotme the job or not. But I do
think it was a differentiator.
So as we have built out ourclaims department in the four
years that I've been here,internships have been a huge
part of that. So what I wantedto do today was bring in a
current intern, a former internthat's now an associate
underwriter and the managerthat's trying to manage a
(02:57):
department that is made up ofmany interests, because I think
those are three differentstories that people might be
interested in one, why dointernships? How do you manage
that? And how can I help you? SoI thought I'd start with you
Luella. Though, let's talk alittle bit about how you got
into worker's compensation.
Luella Alcorn (03:15):
I've got a transcription and a medical
coding background. So that seemskind of strange. However, the
first workers compensationcarrier I went to, they process
their own medical bills. And somy coding background then
qualified me for that position.
And then I came to Berkeleyindustrial comp, and one step
has led to the next to the next.
(03:35):
And then we're not, we don'thave business engagement. So
kind of a roundabout way, but Ilove where I am today.
Greg Hamlin (03:42):
We love having you as part of our team Wallah. So I
feel very fortunate, veryfortunate. Thank you. So, Luke,
let's move over to you. How didyou end up with an internship at
Berkeley industrial competence?
Sure, as you were at Universityof Kentucky Business School, the
first thing you thought is Iwant to get into worker's
compensation. And I'm gonna gofind an internship in that
field. Am I right?
Luke Lenihan (04:02):
Yes, you're totally totally right. I mean, I
got my double major inaccounting and finance and I
really had never heard ofworker's compensation insurance
did not know really anythingabout insurance in general. But
Jeremy Morrison, Director ofunderwriting reached out to me
on my senior year, Christmasbreak, and he had an opportunity
(04:22):
for me, I thought it'd be agreat fit. And I connected with
him and had a great firstmeeting with him. And from
there, I started interning withthe business engagement team
under Louella and had a greatexperience with that, and then
got hired full time as anassociate underwriter in June.
Greg Hamlin (04:38):
That's awesome. So you are what, six months in now?
Maybe a little more than that.
Yep. Just about. That's awesome.
That's awesome. And almost ayear here with us at Berkeley.
Yes. Excellent. Excellent. Well,I guess there's a lesson to be
learned there that if you're onLinkedIn, make sure you check
your messages. Because I don'tthink the past I think we've
reached out to people and thenlike four monthsgo by like and
(05:00):
just seeing this message aboutan internship and they were
like, wow, now it's full. Greatway to get your name out there.
So Tristan, let's talk a littlebit about you, how did you end
up with an internship here atBerkeley
Tristen King (05:13):
was in November of 2021, I was sitting outside of a
Moe's eating my, my free collegelunch, and I got a text from
you, Greg, about thisopportunity. And I thought, I
thought insurance and I was afinance major at the time in an
investment group. So my mind waseither in hospital
administration or investmentmanagement. And so I thought
(05:33):
insurance, you know, it's, thisis something I really want to
do. But what I appreciated themost was having someone I
respected and a leader in thecompany reached out to me and
say that they think I'd be agreat fit for I think that's
what motivated me the most. Andthat really helped me to get my
feet wet and insurance. And asI've been in it, and I've gotten
to learn a little more aboutunderwriting my learn that
(05:54):
investment analysis, likeunderwriting, you look at a
risk, you price it, and you do alittle analysis on it. And the
rest is history there. And, andso that's what really interested
me. And that's kind of how I gotstarted here at Berkeley.
Greg Hamlin (06:08):
That's awesome.Well, I think one of the
challenges and I think we'vetalked about this in other
podcasts episodes is, therearen't many people, one that are
even aware of the opportunitiesand insurance and to that, get
the experience in it, and wouldpursue a career in IT, even
though it's a great career thatso many different backgrounds
can feed into. You know, when Iwas in college, I think the only
(06:30):
thing I ever thought about whenI thought about insurance was
sales, like some guy trying tolike sell you auto surance or
something or life insurance. AndI didn't really know anything
else about it, I just kind ofthought like, it's that grimy
sales guy that's like trying totell you something. And really
like our organization, we have acouple business development
professionals, but the vastmajority of our company are
(06:52):
people who are evaluating risksin underwriting like Luke, or
people on the claim side who arehandling the injuries as they
come in. So there's so manyopportunities that I think the
industry needs to do a betterjob of exposing people to if we
want to develop talent, becausethat's the big talk right now is
that we're facing a talentcrisis. So I want to just to
(07:15):
talk a little bit about Luke,your initial thoughts as you
started your internship on theopportunity, you had mentioned
that you didn't know a whole lotabout workers comp, or
underwriting. So what did youthink as you started learning
more through business engagementabout what this industry could
offer?
Luke Lenihan (07:32):
You know, I mean, I felt the opportunity was
great. That was totally there.
But yeah, like you're saying, noexperience, no real knowledge of
insurance, I was pretty nervousabout what I was getting myself
into. But you know, Louella, andStephanie, and the rest of
business engagement team made mefeel like very welcoming them.
And they knew that I didn'treally know much. So everything
was just kind of training fromthe start. And as I started to
(07:54):
learn more, I felt like I couldlike be good at this. And, yeah,
Greg Hamlin (08:00):
so for you. One of the things when you're an intern
is you're taking you're takingclasses and going to school at
the same time. So how manycredit hours were you taking?
Last semester? Ithink that wastaking 15 to five. Okay, so 15
credit hours? And about how manyhours were you working?
Luke Lenihan (08:18):
I'd say anywhere from maybe like 12 to 20, just
depending on whether or not Ihad to test that weaker, we'd be
out of town.
Greg Hamlin (08:25):
Okay, so how did you balance that? Because I
think that maybe if you were astudent, right now, a question
that you'd want an answer to ishow do you balance working 12 to
20 hours a week, plus taking 15credit hours, and I'm assuming
you had a pretty good GPA? Yes.
Luke Lenihan (08:40):
So really, the work life balance, and school
balance really wasn't that hardfor me, you know, I would
contact Louella, usually onSundays and kind of let her know
my schedule for the week. And ifsomething popped up, I could
just shoot her a text and say,Hey, I can't come in Wednesday,
because I have a big test onThursday. And she was so
(09:01):
accepting of it and was like,hey, all she said back would be,
hey, good luck on your test. Letme know when you come in next.
Greg Hamlin (09:07):
Awesome, awesome.
Well, I think you know, for me,one of the things I love to see
when I'm interviewing and thishas been no matter where I bed
as a hiring manager, our I loveto see people who can balance
grades in school, because thereality is when you start
adulting, that's life, right?
Like you end up having a familyor a lot of people do you have
(09:29):
interests outside of work. Ifyou have kids, you got to figure
that out. And you got to balanceyour job, figure out how to make
all those things work. And sowhen I see a student who is
getting great grades, and theycan balance that work life
balance of a job, that's a hugeplus to me, because it tells me
a lot about their timemanagement. So I think it's a
(09:50):
huge win for both the employeethat's learning how to do that
or the intern as well as thecompany to have a chance to see
that. So Tristan on your end Ijust wanted to ask you the same
question. So what were yourinitial thoughts when you
started here not knowing a wholelot about insurance?
Tristen King (10:06):
Yeah, my initial thoughts were a lot like yours.
Great. When I thought ofinsurance, I thought of brown
suits, gray walls in LEDfixtures buzzing. But I was
completely mistaken. The firsttime I came into the office here
at Berkeley industrial Corp, Iimmediately knew it was
different, you know, the brightwindows and the bright lights,
and just the friendly faces andgetting to know everybody and,
(10:27):
and you introducing me toeverybody on the team, it felt
really special and veryboutique. And so I immediately
felt like a valued member of theteam, even though I had not even
interviewed yet. And that wasreally special to me to be here
at Berkeley and in the insuranceindustry, and to learn a little
bit more about that.
Greg Hamlin (10:44):
So Tristan, and Luke, you when you were doing
your internship and interest andwho's currently doing it, you
guys touch a lot of things,we're probably a little
different than some and thatwe're, as Tristan said, we're a
little more boutique, in that wehave 60 employees. So we're not
siloed, where you might go to adifferent carrier. And if you
were where I started my career,we had 50 people on a floor and
(11:05):
they were all claims people andI never talked to an underwriter
the entire time I worked therebecause it was so siloed here,
obviously, we have underwritingclaims, finance, audit, all
these things moving around, andour interns touch a lot of those
things. You know, for you, Luke,how did you like that having an
opportunity to kind ofexperience different parts of
the insurance business?
Luke Lenihan (11:27):
I really liked it just because No, I really didn't
know what I wanted to do. Andjust sticking with the business
engagement team really wouldn'thave shown me all parts of
insurance. So that really wasbeneficial. And even with
Louella, she makes sure thatwhen you're interning, like
you're seeing everything, andyou also are like learning how
(11:47):
to do each and everything. Justin case like say you didn't like
what you started off doing.
She's like, Okay, let's trythis. Let's go somewhere else
and see if you like this alittle bit better. So I thought
that was very beneficial.
Greg Hamlin (11:59):
That's awesome. So now well, this is my question
for you. This is. So we talkedabout some of the flexibility. I
think Luke mentioned, you know,he had a big test and he needed
to be off or he tried something,maybe tried one part of his
engagement. And you gave him theopportunity to try something
different. How do you manage aunit that maybe I believe almost
half your unit is internshipinternships. So how do you
(12:21):
manage a unit where you've gotwork that has to get done, but
you have maybe part timeemployees, student employees,
people who are who really needthe opportunity to try different
things, but you still have tofigure out how to get the work
done. So how do you manage that?
Luella Alcorn (12:37):
Yeah, trial and error a little bit. But what
I've said to all interns thatcome is that school comes first.
And then when I say that, I meanit and I you know, I have to
mean that. So to Luke's point, Isend out like who's doing what
for the week, and we take turnsand those responsibilities. So
everyone's getting exposure toeverything we do, setting up
claims, scanning the mail, doingunderwriting tasks, there's so
(13:01):
many things that we do, I wantthem to be exposed to all of
that. So I set that schedule.
And then I have to be nimble andquick as those things develop
and have the next person able tostep in. So again, when I said
school comes first, I mean that.
And it's not just schoolschedules, right? If like Luke
said, or Tristan even now hassaid, Okay, I'm starting a new
(13:22):
semester. Louella. Here's my newschedule. So last semester, you
know, he was working Monday,Wednesday, Friday. Now I'm
adapting to his new schedule,and he tells me what his
schedule is. I don't dictatethat to him, you know. So now
he's switching to Tuesday,Thursday, Friday, I think is a
new schedule. And so now Iadjust from that. But let's say
(13:42):
they were to even call in sickor something. Right. So business
engagement, as all of them willattest, I'm sure is an amazingly
supportive team, that I don'teven have to have to time say
anything. If let's say someoneis not gonna be able to come in,
they can look and see, okay,well, Tristan had a pipe stream
shift today. So I'll take hispipe stream shift, and then he
(14:02):
could maybe swap with someoneelse another day. So I say that,
and I mean it. But the otherthing to Luke's point is, I want
them to feel fulfilled, youknow, so if their goal is, hey,
you know what, Luella I justwant to work 16 hours a week,
I'm just gonna pound outwhatever I can do. And then I'm
signing off. And I'm not reallyinterested because I've got so
many other things I'm focusingon whether that school or
(14:24):
personal, then that's, I can dothat for you, right? I'll give
you work, you clap. You clockin, you clock out, thank you for
your work, and we're good. Butif they're interested in an
additional opportunity or afuture here, I want them to be
exposed to whatever theirinterests are. So we'll ask I
mean, of course, we haveunderwriting, we have
resolution, the claimsdepartment, we have finance, we
(14:45):
have marketing, and all of thepeople that are in business
engagement have differentinterests, and I want to fulfill
that because I want it to be awin win, that we have a win and
having them as an opportunity,you know, giving them an
opportunity, but then they feellike they're being fulfill, not
just short term and what they'retrying to do to accomplish
before they get done withschool. But then their long term
(15:06):
goals and it's been successfulso far loop date, Tristan is,
you know, staying, and I couldlist all the other people that
have stayed right Jacob is one,Christina is one, Justin's one,
right? Our recipe that we'vebuilt here is working for us.
And I'm super proud of that.
Greg Hamlin (15:22):
That's fantastic.
And I know what you're talkingabout can't be easy. And if you
went to a lot of otherorganizations, even in the
insurance space, a lot of thesetasks they would have done by
full time employees that mighteven be clerical. And we took a
different approach for a fewreasons. One is, I believe very
strongly that the currentgeneration of students that are
(15:42):
coming out, have new ideas. Andwe'll think of better ways to do
some of these tasks. If we givethem the chance to take a look
at it, too. I also think,learning how to get exposure to
the claims side, the financeside, the audit side, the
underwriting side, is going tohelp that so that when we if we
want to hire that person, theyknow where they fit, and they
(16:05):
know what they like. And thatway, we're not getting a year or
two into the training process.
And they're like, Man, I hateclaims. Why did I do this? And
we've already poured all thoseresources in right. So lots of
advantages.
Luella Alcorn (16:20):
And if you talk to because I have you know,
those that have gone on Jacobsthat Christina it's right there
beginnings in businessengagement, helps them in their
current position, theyunderstand how the mailroom
works, they understand how theunderwriting tasks go right
turnaround time, those kinds ofthings. So I feel all of them
have said that they havebenefited from coming through
(16:41):
business engagement and learningall those things for their next
role.
Greg Hamlin (16:45):
I agree. And some of the things that you have been
flexible with Llewellyn, I thinkhas been helpful is allowing for
mentoring to take place withsome of the interns. So Tristan,
I know on your end, you're doingthe tasks that the wall assigns,
but you're also having somementoring sessions with Jeremy,
who's our Director ofunderwriting. So can you talk a
little bit about those and thekinds of things you guys talk
(17:06):
about how often you meet and thevalue that's had for you?
Tristen King (17:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
One of the coolest things aboutthis internship was that, you
know, close to my year, Mark,I'm telling you, well, hey, I'm
interested in underwriting, youknow, and I'm looking for more
opportunities to learn about it.
And so she immediately helps meschedule meetings with Dustin,
our Senior Vice Presidentunderwriting here at Berkeley
and Astro comp. And with Jeremyand so, you know, it's really
(17:32):
cool to be able to walk into theVice President's offensive
underwriting and say, Hey, Iwould like more opportunities to
learn about underwriting. Andimmediately he sets you up with
your director of underwriting.
And Jeremy, the director ofunderwriting is right out right
out the gate, hey, I got theserenewals that that need to be
priced. Let me show you how todo them. And I'd like you to do
this entire months of renewals.
(17:54):
And immediately, I'm just throwninto it. And I'm doing the work
that underwriters do, and I getto learn about it by being in
the process of it. And I thinkthat's really special that when
you've created a culture, whereyou can talk with your leaders,
and say, This is where I want togrow, this is what I want to
learn. And immediately, they'refinding opportunities for you.
Greg Hamlin (18:14):
And that's fantastic. And I'm such a big
fan of mentorships. In general,I think they're really
important. We did a wholeepisode on that there are a
couple of our associate claimsresolution specialists that I'm
doing bi weekly sessions with todo mentoring, because I think
it's important and it's how welearn is when we have people who
aren't maybe our directsupervisors who can step in and
(18:35):
show us the way and give us someideas of things that we can do
to be successful. So well, Iknow, we talked about some of
this, but maybe talk a littlebit more, what are some of the
challenges of running adepartment that's augmented by
interns? And then what are someof the benefits?
Luella Alcorn (18:49):
I think a lot of those are both challenges and
wins. So challenges are whenTristan and Luke have these
opportunities to be exposed toother departments, then they see
how much they shine. And I wantto have that all internally with
me and not let anybody else knowthat because then the second,
they see that they want to takethem from me. That is both a
(19:10):
challenge. And also a win. Imean, and again, that's what I
want. I'm super proud. And I'vesaid to Tristan, you know, I
want to send you off lovingly,you know, when that time comes
that you would go to anotherdepartment or be hired or
whatever. And again, I've hadthat experience with other
employees. So I think thechallenges only come with
(19:33):
wanting to find out how they canfeel fulfilled, you know, and so
I have one on ones with everyonein my department. So I'm
regularly conversating with themagain, are you the one that
wants to work your 16 hours andclock out and you know, you just
want to do the work, I'll meetthat need happily. And then do
you have other needs and I wantto make sure that I expose them
(19:54):
to those opportunities to makethe decision. Tristan had
mentioned when he first came tous, that was not his focus. In
school, and because of thisexposure, he's changed his major
and could potentially, you know,want a real long term
opportunity here, that is awonderful testament to how we've
made him feel the opportunitieswe've provided for him. So
again, some of the challenges ofhim being in school are also the
(20:16):
winds, because if he ends upstaying on with us, that's,
that's the biggest compliment wecould get. Right? A lot of times
when you're looking at a resume,like, Oh, I think this person
would be good. One of thebiggest compliments, Greg, that
you could give Tristan, is thatyou would vouch for him right?
And say, right, hey, you know,we have this opening, and I
think he would be great. That'sa wonderful compliment, right?
And then, you know, you know,what kind of quality candidate
(20:38):
we have. So really, you know,the only hard things I would
say, is just coming to, youknow, scheduling when they would
work and their availability, butit's all about communication.
And so again, in those one onones that I have with them,
they've got to communicate withme, even if that's a text
saying, hey, something'schanged, I'm not available this
week. And then I'm just wantingto be fulfilled, that's a
(20:59):
challenge, I really care to makesure that they're happy when
they're here. And I'm givingthem any opportunity that they
want that they want. Those
Greg Hamlin (21:06):
are great examples.
And you're right. And I havesaid that multiple times as
we've managed our entrance, ifthey say, Well, I think I want
to be a veterinarian. That'sgreat. That's okay. That's okay.
And things can change. And theymight not change, you know, one
of them, one of our interns wenton, and I think she's doing, you
know, graduate work on inveterinary school. And that's
fantastic. We had another of ourentrance, Jacob, I'll highlight
(21:29):
him, he, at the time was workingat Cracker Barrel. And now he's
a full time employee of ourresolution department and is
fantastic. And he'll Anil end uphaving editing this entire
podcast, and has the technicalskills to do that. So, so many
different talents can enter ourdepartment if we're open minded
to the internship program. And Iremember when I was working for
(21:50):
Indiana University Foundation,one of the things they said to
me early on was, we're not goingto be able to compensate you for
the level of work we're going tobe doing, and we compensate our
interns, but my point was, theypaid me a little more than what
you would get paid if you wereworking some hourly job while
you're going to school. But whatthey did is they gave me the
(22:12):
skill sets and the experiencesthat gave me the confidence to
be able to do so much more withmy career. And I really believe
there's no way I become a vicepresident of insurance company
before I'm 40 If I hadn't hadthose experiences early on. So I
do think they matter.
Luella Alcorn (22:30):
Even some of the the tasks like let's say
scanning the mail, right, that'snot a celebratory thing, you
know, as he's over therescanning the mail, right.
However, later on down the road,when there has an issue of some
sort, we tried to figure thisout, because he started with
scanning the mail, heunderstands the process of how
documents come in how they'relabeled, that is huge. To
(22:53):
understand that when you thenare sitting in an adjusters
chair and say, Hi, did this, youknow, non medical invoice come
in, and it didn't create a taskto me, he knows that because he
scanned it at one point inhimself and can understand that.
And then it also then says, ifthey're willing to take the time
to do those things, right, thenthey're absolutely willing to do
(23:14):
the other ones, right. So eventaking the time to do those
small tasks in the beginningreally makes a difference later
on for them.
Greg Hamlin (23:21):
Great, great points. So I wanted to go back
to you, Luke and talk about asyou transitioned in to your full
time position, how was itdifferent than your internship?
Luke Lenihan (23:33):
I mean, really, the only difference was that I
was moving from the businessengagement, like daily tasks
that I was doing to more of kindof learning how to underwrite
and, like, evaluate, like therisks of the new business and
renewals that we have. And Iguess the another difference
would be the people that I'd beworking with. So instead of
working with, you know, Shannon,and Stephanie and Louella, I'm
(23:54):
not working with Jeremy andSteve and Lesley and all the
other underwriters. But I thinkone of the benefits of working
with all of the underwriters isyou know, each underwriter has a
different way of kind of doingtheir accounts. So I can not
only see like how Jeremy's doingbut Leslie is doing and Steve's
doing, and they all do itdifferently. And like each of
(24:16):
their ways is like it's notright or wrong. But for me, I
can see what I see myself doingand how I see myself looking at
these accounts and these risks.
Greg Hamlin (24:25):
Great, great points. I think there's a lot to
be learned in that. And youmentioned something you know,
and I don't know why it spurredmy mind this direction, but I
know Luke, you're in Lexington,Kentucky. Tristan is in
Birmingham, Alabama, and we havehad interns in our Las Vegas
office. So we've had interns inall three of our offices.
Louella you're located inLexington, Kentucky, any issues
(24:46):
with trying to manage interns inmultiple locations.
Luella Alcorn (24:50):
Um, I see it as a pro because of the different
locations there's also differenttime zones. So then those
individuals are available Willyou know if I'm eastern time so
I'm let's say I'm done at 5pm.
Okay, but then I have an intern
working until four or 4 (25:06):
30pm.
Pacific time, that's 730. Mytime that we still have new
business being entered, ie modsbeing pulled, last run reports
being sent out, right. Andthere's not a huge gap of time
when everyone clocks out at 430in one timezone and doesn't come
back until 8am. The nextmorning, we get constant
(25:27):
compliments from theunderwriting department about
how they're surprised thatthey'll send an email to the new
business workflow, and that it'sentered into the system 15
minutes later, and it's 5pm.
Like, how does that even happen?
Well, it happens because we havepeople in all of those different
locations. So I see it as a pro.
Greg Hamlin (25:47):
I think in today's world, we're moving more and
more to a place where we have tobe able to manage people
remotely in multiple locations,the days of us all clocking into
the same office, those days areprobably done. Not that we won't
have locations, but I think it'sjust the world we live in has
moved to that. So figuring outhow to manage that and seeing
the advantages instead of justthe points where you're like,
(26:10):
wow, that's difficult. I can'tjust say hi to them at the
watercooler.
Luella Alcorn (26:13):
Now, some of the other things though, Greg is
here at Berkeley industrialcomp, every phone call I have
with them is video. So it's not,you know, in, I'm old, right? In
the old days, you know, when I'mcalling them and they can't see
me, I can't see them. So eventhough I'm not physically next
to Tristan, a lot of the times Ireally do feel a connection with
him because we have theconversations, he can see my
(26:35):
facial expressions, I can seehis I've been to the office, you
don't I mean, I have visited wedo know each other personally at
this point. He's even come toLexington. So those interactions
because we're through video arehelpful. And same thing. Of
course, with the people in theLas Vegas office, I see them
each time we're on the phone.
And that's a personalconnection.
Greg Hamlin (26:55):
Great points, great points. And we have to leverage
technology, if we're going to besuccessful on that. And we have
so many things that we can dothat we couldn't do 10 years
ago, that make things a loteasier. So switching gears
Tristan, I wanted to ask youthat same question about work
life balance. I know for youbecause I've worked around you
for a while that you are veryinvolved in clubs at school,
(27:15):
like a financial club, correct?
Tristen King (27:17):
Yeah, I'm in an investment club. UAB called the
Green and Gold Fund, we manageover over a million dollars.
Greg Hamlin (27:24):
So very involved in an investment club. Also
bragging on him a little bitscholarship student at UAB. So,
you know, certain level ofdedication to be able to
maintain a scholarship at schoollike UAB, and also very involved
in giving back in yourcommunity, as well as was
recently married in the summer.
So that's a lot to juggle. Sohow do you do that and an
(27:45):
internship and be successful atall of it.
Tristen King (27:49):
I think it's interesting, because of what
work life balance and how I'mjuggling it, because it's kind
of what I've grown up doingthroughout my entire time middle
school, high school, I was goingto church, I was playing sports,
I was going to school. And I wasdating, you know. So this is,
you know, this is things I'mpretty used to nowadays, you
know, I'm in school and clubs.
I'm not playing sports, butthat's kind of where my working
(28:10):
is now. And yeah, I got married,and we're having our ceremony
this year. But I just I don't Idon't see it from me as being
entirely difficult, just kind ofwhat I'm used to. But, you know,
I put out what's important tome, you know, work is important
to me, school is very importantto me, there's clubs involved in
you know, I've dedicated my timeto those things and in my
(28:32):
relationships as well. And sowhat's important to me, is at
the forefront, so I tend tofocus on those things throughout
my day. I don't, I don't like tospend too much time not doing
anything. I'm always trying todo something. So that's kind of
how I've been asked. So justsomething I've grown up doing
and very used to,
Greg Hamlin (28:51):
well, pro tip for somebody who's almost been
married 20 years now keep thedating going. He gotta keep
doing that. Right. Even thoughyour advice? Well, a couple
things. I wanted to wrap up withone. I wanted to ask both of you
these questions. So startingwith you, Luke, if you were
talking to an incoming collegefreshman, what advice would you
(29:12):
get them on internships?
Luke Lenihan (29:14):
I mean, I'd say I'd say have an open mind. I
mean, I'm sure almost everycollege has those career fairs
monthly or whatever, coupletimes a year. I mean, go to
those and like what's the worstthat can happen by talking to
somebody for 30 minutes or anhour? I mean, the only thing
you're going to get out of it isyeah, I like this type of
company or I didn't like it andyou lost 30 minutes but you
(29:37):
know, at least you know that youdon't like what that company is
doing or where that company isgoing. So yeah, keep an open
mind. Work hard in school. Andyou know, the first job you may
get their internship you may getyou might not like but it'll at
least you'll at least learnthings that will kind of help
you in your future career.
Greg Hamlin (29:55):
Great points. You know, a friend of mine actually
our actuary Matt Murphy has saidto me You know, people talk all
the time about their success,and boy, they got lucky. And
luck is part of it. But if youdon't put your sail up, you will
never catch the wind. So go intothe career fair, that's putting
your sail up, getting aninternship that's putting your
sail up. And, you know, the windmay or may not blow the
(30:17):
direction you want it to go. Butif you don't go to those things,
you won't you'll miss out onthose chances. And I think that
was a great point to make.
Tristan, I'd ask you the samequestion. If you're talking to
an incoming college freshman,what advice would you give them
about internships,
Tristen King (30:33):
the advice I would give to incoming college
freshmen about internships, isnumber one interview, go into
the workplace, meet the leaders,and get to get to have a little
feel for them. And number two, Ithink, to me is the most
important, like, it's just, forexample, throughout my college,
in the clubs, I'm in, you know,these individuals, these
(30:54):
students are very focused ongetting the big name, investment
banking, internships, these, youknow, these big offices where
they kind of under the shadow,and what was always important to
me was feeling valued in theplace that I work in feeling
that I'm important and that I'mcontributing something. So my
advice would be to find thatplace, find that company, that
(31:17):
you're able to perform yourinterest in skills and apply
them, but also a place that theyknow your name that you feel
valued, and that, that theyunderstand who you are, and what
your skills are. And where youcan apply them to just finding a
place that you feel value thatbecause your job is gonna be
your long term, you're going tospend the majority your time in
(31:38):
life in a career, my advicewould just be to find a place
where they feel valued, andimportant.
Greg Hamlin (31:45):
I think those That's great advice. And I also
like what you said about, like,maybe the big name isn't the
first place that you go, there'snothing wrong with the big
names. I started at one. But Ican remember when I've worked at
career fair when I was workingas a director for a state fund.
And we would see a line, a hugeline for a bank that was
(32:07):
nationally known. But the careerthat they had was a teller, like
just basically somebody at thefront desk, and we're right next
to them, and nobody knows who weare. And so there's nobody
talking to us. And I'm lookingat going, I know that our job
pays more than that job does,and has more opportunities, but
people just don't know who weare. So I like what you said
about being sure you get outthere and you just really do
(32:29):
some homework and check in onsome of those others that you
might not know about. Because ifyou again, if you don't, if you
don't do the homework, you'llnever know, everybody recognizes
the big names, but that doesn'tnecessarily mean that the best
place to start could be so greatpoints. So I want to also ask
you, Louella. So switchinggears, if you were talking to
employers, because there'sprobably a few that are
(32:50):
listening, that don't haveinternship programs, what what
would you tell them? And thenthey're thinking about it, what
would you tell them, why theyshould consider it?
Luella Alcorn (33:00):
Here at Berkeley industrial comp, were a
testament to what we've producedfrom starting that internship
program. And we've got, again,countless examples at this point
that came in as students stayedgraduated, we hired them, and
now they're valued employeeshere at Berkeley industrial
comp, it would be sad, you know,to know that we would miss out
on that opportunity and havethose very, very important
(33:22):
individuals that are here withus today, because of it, I think
it's an opportunity as well toshow that we're willing to put
in the time to people that wantthe opportunities, right, it
would be easy to say, I don'thave time to develop these
individuals and take the time totrain and mentor in those ways.
But we do value that. And it'sbeen a win for us.
Greg Hamlin (33:44):
I couldn't agree more huge, huge, huge believer
in it. And I would justencourage other employers who
have thought about it, to thinkabout it, you're going to be
able to get work done withpeople who are going to have a
fresh look at how that work getsdone. And you have the
opportunity to develop and growthem and give them exposure to
an industry that really needsexposure. So great, great
(34:06):
advice.
Luella Alcorn (34:07):
It's rewarding, it's been very rewarding to see
that.
Greg Hamlin (34:10):
Absolutely. And finally, the last thing I wanted
to do this year is each eachtime I've done one of these
episodes over the last fewseasons, I've wanted to put some
good vibes in the universe,because I just feel like there's
so much doom and gloom. And ifthere's one little thing I can
do to put some positivity outthere, I'm going to do it. So
(34:31):
for ending the season, I wantedto ask each of you something
that you're grateful for. So I'mgoing to start with Luke,
something you're grateful for.
Luke Lenihan (34:39):
Okay. I'm very grateful for my friends and
family and the health of kind ofall those who I love. And I hope
we start off this New Yearpositive and just kind of go
from there and hopefullyeverything goes into good
direction and everything keepsgoing well.
Greg Hamlin (34:57):
Awesome. Awesome.
Well, what are you grateful for?
We're
Luella Alcorn (35:00):
countless things I could go on and on, the thing
right now would be the supportof my husband. So I super busy
with my job. And he also has afull time position as well. And
then we have kids and grandkidsthat, you know, have lots of
interests. And we lead a very,very busy life, kind of passing,
you know, driving. And hissupport means a lot to me. It's
(35:24):
the extra stuff. It's not thestuff that you know, he needs to
do. It's extra stuff. So lastweek, one day, it was a work
from home day, and he happenedto be off work, and he brought
in breakfast to me and that, youknow, just an extra thing that
he did, yes. And then the otherday, I my daughter is in Girl
Scouts, and obviously, you know,Girl Scouts, Hill Girl Scout
cookies, and I'm the new mom. Sothey had, I'm now cookie
(35:45):
manager. So the guy gotvoluntold on that. And so I was
running out the door, learn howto do that. And it was a cold
day, and I was running aroundgetting things done. And I went
out to the garage, and he hadstarted my car for me to have it
more. So it's just those extrathings that support means
everything to me, and I'm superthankful for that.
Greg Hamlin (36:04):
What great examples. No, I feel bad. I'm
gonna have to go home and beextra nice to my wife. Sorry.
Very good. Oh, I like Chris. Imet her husband. He's a good
guy. Yes. So Tristan, samequestion, what's something
you're grateful for?
Tristen King (36:19):
I'm very grateful for my life. There's been plenty
of times throughout this pastyear where I've said, Do I want
to do this is this what I wantto do? A very peculiar about my
career choices. And what I'dlike to do. And it's been very
difficult trying to find a goodone. But she's been the person
that has provided thatperspective, and reminded me of
what's important in my life and,and my skills and my, my
(36:41):
abilities that they bring to thetable. And she just is a great
person and great support. Andlike I said, just that kind of
person that just offersperspective. To me.
Greg Hamlin (36:50):
Fantastic sounding words are important. If you
don't have one fine one, afriend, a spouse, somebody I
felt like most of the baddecisions I made in life is
because I did have a soundingboard. And the ones that I've
avoided in the good ones thathave happened, because I bounce
my ideas off of somebody. So Ithink Simon Sinek, who I love,
that's one of the things hetalks about all the time is find
a friend, find a spouse, findsomebody you can bounce your
(37:13):
ideas off of, because you'll geta lot further when you do so.
Great, great thoughts, greatwords of wisdom. Guys, I can't
be more proud of this episode. Ilove our interns. I love the
work that they're doing. Ireally hope that some people
listen to this and decide to goout and pursue some internships.
I hope some employers consideradding internships so that they
(37:35):
can develop their folks. And Iwould just end with our mantra
to do right, think differently,and don't forget to care. And
that's it for this episode.
Thanks, everyone.
Hello everybody and welcome to adjust it. I'm your
host Greg Hamlin coming at youfrom beautiful Birmingham,
Alabama and Berkeley industrialcomp. And with me today are a
whole host of guests. So we havethree guests today. So it's
gonna be a fun podcast episode.
We'll start with you. Luella. Doyou want to introduce yourself?
Luella Alcorn (00:32):
Yes, well, alicorn I am out of our
Lexington Kentucky Office. I amBusiness Operations Manager here
at Berkley industrial calm.
Greg Hamlin (00:40):
Excellent. And then next up, we have Luke Luke, do
you want to introduce yourself?
Luke Lenihan (00:45):
Yes. Hi, everyone.
Happy New Year was Greg said myname is Luke Lenahan. My
associate underwriter theLexington office and started as
an intern last January.
Greg Hamlin (00:56):
Excellent. And I won't hold it against you look
that you graduated fromUniversity of Kentucky since I'm
an Indiana grad. But we're bothhaving very difficult basketball
years right now. So yes,definitely. We can share in our
misery, right? Yes, absolutely.
And the only difference is wedon't have a lifetime contract
on our coach. So unfortunately,hopefully they get things turned
around there for you guys. Yeah.
(01:16):
All right. And finally, our nextguest. Tristan, you want to
introduce yourself
Tristen King (01:21):
Glad to be here today, Greg. I'm Tristan King
out of the Birmingham office.
I'm currently a finance studentat UAB. And I've been with
Berkeley industrial comm for alittle over a year now.
Greg Hamlin (01:30):
Excellent. Well, I wanted to get this group
together. One thing we have nottalked about in any of the
episodes is the power ofinternships. And this is
something that's really near anddear to my heart. I started my
career at Indiana University,and actually was a student
manager have a telephone. So Istarted actually doing
(01:52):
fundraising over the phone andthen became a student manager
much like both of their stories.
I don't think it was labeled asan internship. But really, it
works the same way. And Iremember in my interview
process, the time when I wasgetting ready to start my career
after graduation, they hadinterviewed me and said, you
know, we interviewed forbusiness majors, you're the only
criminal justice major, whyshould we hire you? And I said,
(02:13):
Well, easy. One is I alreadyhave work experience in the
business world doing fundraisingover the phone. And I understand
statistics. And I know how torun metrics in computer systems.
And I know how to manage a roomand I've had leadership
experience. So all those things.
And I said, I have a differentbackground and criminal justice,
(02:34):
which gives me a differentbackground going into claim. So
I don't know if that's what gotme the job or not. But I do
think it was a differentiator.
So as we have built out ourclaims department in the four
years that I've been here,internships have been a huge
part of that. So what I wantedto do today was bring in a
current intern, a former internthat's now an associate
underwriter and the managerthat's trying to manage a
(02:57):
department that is made up ofmany interests, because I think
those are three differentstories that people might be
interested in one, why dointernships? How do you manage
that? And how can I help you? SoI thought I'd start with you
Luella. Though, let's talk alittle bit about how you got
into worker's compensation.
Luella Alcorn (03:15):
I've got a transcription and a medical
coding background. So that seemskind of strange. However, the
first workers compensationcarrier I went to, they process
their own medical bills. And somy coding background then
qualified me for that position.
And then I came to Berkeleyindustrial comp, and one step
has led to the next to the next.
(03:35):
And then we're not, we don'thave business engagement. So
kind of a roundabout way, but Ilove where I am today.
Greg Hamlin (03:42):
We love having you as part of our team Wallah. So I
feel very fortunate, veryfortunate. Thank you. So, Luke,
let's move over to you. How didyou end up with an internship at
Berkeley industrial competence?
Sure, as you were at Universityof Kentucky Business School, the
first thing you thought is Iwant to get into worker's
compensation. And I'm gonna gofind an internship in that
field. Am I right?
Luke Lenihan (04:02):
Yes, you're totally totally right. I mean, I
got my double major inaccounting and finance and I
really had never heard ofworker's compensation insurance
did not know really anythingabout insurance in general. But
Jeremy Morrison, Director ofunderwriting reached out to me
on my senior year, Christmasbreak, and he had an opportunity
(04:22):
for me, I thought it'd be agreat fit. And I connected with
him and had a great firstmeeting with him. And from
there, I started interning withthe business engagement team
under Louella and had a greatexperience with that, and then
got hired full time as anassociate underwriter in June.
Greg Hamlin (04:38):
That's awesome. So you are what, six months in now?
Maybe a little more than that.
Yep. Just about. That's awesome.
That's awesome. And almost ayear here with us at Berkeley.
Yes. Excellent. Excellent. Well,I guess there's a lesson to be
learned there that if you're onLinkedIn, make sure you check
your messages. Because I don'tthink the past I think we've
reached out to people and thenlike four monthsgo by like and
(05:00):
just seeing this message aboutan internship and they were
like, wow, now it's full. Greatway to get your name out there.
So Tristan, let's talk a littlebit about you, how did you end
up with an internship here atBerkeley
Tristen King (05:13):
was in November of 2021, I was sitting outside of a
Moe's eating my, my free collegelunch, and I got a text from
you, Greg, about thisopportunity. And I thought, I
thought insurance and I was afinance major at the time in an
investment group. So my mind waseither in hospital
administration or investmentmanagement. And so I thought
(05:33):
insurance, you know, it's, thisis something I really want to
do. But what I appreciated themost was having someone I
respected and a leader in thecompany reached out to me and
say that they think I'd be agreat fit for I think that's
what motivated me the most. Andthat really helped me to get my
feet wet and insurance. And asI've been in it, and I've gotten
to learn a little more aboutunderwriting my learn that
(05:54):
investment analysis, likeunderwriting, you look at a
risk, you price it, and you do alittle analysis on it. And the
rest is history there. And, andso that's what really interested
me. And that's kind of how I gotstarted here at Berkeley.
Greg Hamlin (06:08):
That's awesome.Well, I think one of the
challenges and I think we'vetalked about this in other
podcasts episodes is, therearen't many people, one that are
even aware of the opportunitiesand insurance and to that, get
the experience in it, and wouldpursue a career in IT, even
though it's a great career thatso many different backgrounds
can feed into. You know, when Iwas in college, I think the only
(06:30):
thing I ever thought about whenI thought about insurance was
sales, like some guy trying tolike sell you auto surance or
something or life insurance. AndI didn't really know anything
else about it, I just kind ofthought like, it's that grimy
sales guy that's like trying totell you something. And really
like our organization, we have acouple business development
professionals, but the vastmajority of our company are
(06:52):
people who are evaluating risksin underwriting like Luke, or
people on the claim side who arehandling the injuries as they
come in. So there's so manyopportunities that I think the
industry needs to do a betterjob of exposing people to if we
want to develop talent, becausethat's the big talk right now is
that we're facing a talentcrisis. So I want to just to
(07:15):
talk a little bit about Luke,your initial thoughts as you
started your internship on theopportunity, you had mentioned
that you didn't know a whole lotabout workers comp, or
underwriting. So what did youthink as you started learning
more through business engagementabout what this industry could
offer?
Luke Lenihan (07:32):
You know, I mean, I felt the opportunity was
great. That was totally there.
But yeah, like you're saying, noexperience, no real knowledge of
insurance, I was pretty nervousabout what I was getting myself
into. But you know, Louella, andStephanie, and the rest of
business engagement team made mefeel like very welcoming them.
And they knew that I didn'treally know much. So everything
was just kind of training fromthe start. And as I started to
(07:54):
learn more, I felt like I couldlike be good at this. And, yeah,
Greg Hamlin (08:00):
so for you. One of the things when you're an intern
is you're taking you're takingclasses and going to school at
the same time. So how manycredit hours were you taking?
Last semester? Ithink that wastaking 15 to five. Okay, so 15
credit hours? And about how manyhours were you working?
Luke Lenihan (08:18):
I'd say anywhere from maybe like 12 to 20, just
depending on whether or not Ihad to test that weaker, we'd be
out of town.
Greg Hamlin (08:25):
Okay, so how did you balance that? Because I
think that maybe if you were astudent, right now, a question
that you'd want an answer to ishow do you balance working 12 to
20 hours a week, plus taking 15credit hours, and I'm assuming
you had a pretty good GPA? Yes.
Luke Lenihan (08:40):
So really, the work life balance, and school
balance really wasn't that hardfor me, you know, I would
contact Louella, usually onSundays and kind of let her know
my schedule for the week. And ifsomething popped up, I could
just shoot her a text and say,Hey, I can't come in Wednesday,
because I have a big test onThursday. And she was so
(09:01):
accepting of it and was like,hey, all she said back would be,
hey, good luck on your test. Letme know when you come in next.
Greg Hamlin (09:07):
Awesome, awesome.
Well, I think you know, for me,one of the things I love to see
when I'm interviewing and thishas been no matter where I bed
as a hiring manager, our I loveto see people who can balance
grades in school, because thereality is when you start
adulting, that's life, right?
Like you end up having a familyor a lot of people do you have
(09:29):
interests outside of work. Ifyou have kids, you got to figure
that out. And you got to balanceyour job, figure out how to make
all those things work. And sowhen I see a student who is
getting great grades, and theycan balance that work life
balance of a job, that's a hugeplus to me, because it tells me
a lot about their timemanagement. So I think it's a
(09:50):
huge win for both the employeethat's learning how to do that
or the intern as well as thecompany to have a chance to see
that. So Tristan on your end Ijust wanted to ask you the same
question. So what were yourinitial thoughts when you
started here not knowing a wholelot about insurance?
Tristen King (10:06):
Yeah, my initial thoughts were a lot like yours.
Great. When I thought ofinsurance, I thought of brown
suits, gray walls in LEDfixtures buzzing. But I was
completely mistaken. The firsttime I came into the office here
at Berkeley industrial Corp, Iimmediately knew it was
different, you know, the brightwindows and the bright lights,
and just the friendly faces andgetting to know everybody and,
(10:27):
and you introducing me toeverybody on the team, it felt
really special and veryboutique. And so I immediately
felt like a valued member of theteam, even though I had not even
interviewed yet. And that wasreally special to me to be here
at Berkeley and in the insuranceindustry, and to learn a little
bit more about that.
Greg Hamlin (10:44):
So Tristan, and Luke, you when you were doing
your internship and interest andwho's currently doing it, you
guys touch a lot of things,we're probably a little
different than some and thatwe're, as Tristan said, we're a
little more boutique, in that wehave 60 employees. So we're not
siloed, where you might go to adifferent carrier. And if you
were where I started my career,we had 50 people on a floor and
(11:05):
they were all claims people andI never talked to an underwriter
the entire time I worked therebecause it was so siloed here,
obviously, we have underwritingclaims, finance, audit, all
these things moving around, andour interns touch a lot of those
things. You know, for you, Luke,how did you like that having an
opportunity to kind ofexperience different parts of
the insurance business?
Luke Lenihan (11:27):
I really liked it just because No, I really didn't
know what I wanted to do. Andjust sticking with the business
engagement team really wouldn'thave shown me all parts of
insurance. So that really wasbeneficial. And even with
Louella, she makes sure thatwhen you're interning, like
you're seeing everything, andyou also are like learning how
(11:47):
to do each and everything. Justin case like say you didn't like
what you started off doing.
She's like, Okay, let's trythis. Let's go somewhere else
and see if you like this alittle bit better. So I thought
that was very beneficial.
Greg Hamlin (11:59):
That's awesome. So now well, this is my question
for you. This is. So we talkedabout some of the flexibility. I
think Luke mentioned, you know,he had a big test and he needed
to be off or he tried something,maybe tried one part of his
engagement. And you gave him theopportunity to try something
different. How do you manage aunit that maybe I believe almost
half your unit is internshipinternships. So how do you
(12:21):
manage a unit where you've gotwork that has to get done, but
you have maybe part timeemployees, student employees,
people who are who really needthe opportunity to try different
things, but you still have tofigure out how to get the work
done. So how do you manage that?
Luella Alcorn (12:37):
Yeah, trial and error a little bit. But what
I've said to all interns thatcome is that school comes first.
And then when I say that, I meanit and I you know, I have to
mean that. So to Luke's point, Isend out like who's doing what
for the week, and we take turnsand those responsibilities. So
everyone's getting exposure toeverything we do, setting up
claims, scanning the mail, doingunderwriting tasks, there's so
(13:01):
many things that we do, I wantthem to be exposed to all of
that. So I set that schedule.
And then I have to be nimble andquick as those things develop
and have the next person able tostep in. So again, when I said
school comes first, I mean that.
And it's not just schoolschedules, right? If like Luke
said, or Tristan even now hassaid, Okay, I'm starting a new
(13:22):
semester. Louella. Here's my newschedule. So last semester, you
know, he was working Monday,Wednesday, Friday. Now I'm
adapting to his new schedule,and he tells me what his
schedule is. I don't dictatethat to him, you know. So now
he's switching to Tuesday,Thursday, Friday, I think is a
new schedule. And so now Iadjust from that. But let's say
(13:42):
they were to even call in sickor something. Right. So business
engagement, as all of them willattest, I'm sure is an amazingly
supportive team, that I don'teven have to have to time say
anything. If let's say someoneis not gonna be able to come in,
they can look and see, okay,well, Tristan had a pipe stream
shift today. So I'll take hispipe stream shift, and then he
(14:02):
could maybe swap with someoneelse another day. So I say that,
and I mean it. But the otherthing to Luke's point is, I want
them to feel fulfilled, youknow, so if their goal is, hey,
you know what, Luella I justwant to work 16 hours a week,
I'm just gonna pound outwhatever I can do. And then I'm
signing off. And I'm not reallyinterested because I've got so
many other things I'm focusingon whether that school or
(14:24):
personal, then that's, I can dothat for you, right? I'll give
you work, you clap. You clockin, you clock out, thank you for
your work, and we're good. Butif they're interested in an
additional opportunity or afuture here, I want them to be
exposed to whatever theirinterests are. So we'll ask I
mean, of course, we haveunderwriting, we have
resolution, the claimsdepartment, we have finance, we
(14:45):
have marketing, and all of thepeople that are in business
engagement have differentinterests, and I want to fulfill
that because I want it to be awin win, that we have a win and
having them as an opportunity,you know, giving them an
opportunity, but then they feellike they're being fulfill, not
just short term and what they'retrying to do to accomplish
before they get done withschool. But then their long term
(15:06):
goals and it's been successfulso far loop date, Tristan is,
you know, staying, and I couldlist all the other people that
have stayed right Jacob is one,Christina is one, Justin's one,
right? Our recipe that we'vebuilt here is working for us.
And I'm super proud of that.
Greg Hamlin (15:22):
That's fantastic.
And I know what you're talkingabout can't be easy. And if you
went to a lot of otherorganizations, even in the
insurance space, a lot of thesetasks they would have done by
full time employees that mighteven be clerical. And we took a
different approach for a fewreasons. One is, I believe very
strongly that the currentgeneration of students that are
(15:42):
coming out, have new ideas. Andwe'll think of better ways to do
some of these tasks. If we givethem the chance to take a look
at it, too. I also think,learning how to get exposure to
the claims side, the financeside, the audit side, the
underwriting side, is going tohelp that so that when we if we
want to hire that person, theyknow where they fit, and they
(16:05):
know what they like. And thatway, we're not getting a year or
two into the training process.
And they're like, Man, I hateclaims. Why did I do this? And
we've already poured all thoseresources in right. So lots of
advantages.
Luella Alcorn (16:20):
And if you talk to because I have you know,
those that have gone on Jacobsthat Christina it's right there
beginnings in businessengagement, helps them in their
current position, theyunderstand how the mailroom
works, they understand how theunderwriting tasks go right
turnaround time, those kinds ofthings. So I feel all of them
have said that they havebenefited from coming through
(16:41):
business engagement and learningall those things for their next
role.
Greg Hamlin (16:45):
I agree. And some of the things that you have been
flexible with Llewellyn, I thinkhas been helpful is allowing for
mentoring to take place withsome of the interns. So Tristan,
I know on your end, you're doingthe tasks that the wall assigns,
but you're also having somementoring sessions with Jeremy,
who's our Director ofunderwriting. So can you talk a
little bit about those and thekinds of things you guys talk
(17:06):
about how often you meet and thevalue that's had for you?
Tristen King (17:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
One of the coolest things aboutthis internship was that, you
know, close to my year, Mark,I'm telling you, well, hey, I'm
interested in underwriting, youknow, and I'm looking for more
opportunities to learn about it.
And so she immediately helps meschedule meetings with Dustin,
our Senior Vice Presidentunderwriting here at Berkeley
and Astro comp. And with Jeremyand so, you know, it's really
(17:32):
cool to be able to walk into theVice President's offensive
underwriting and say, Hey, Iwould like more opportunities to
learn about underwriting. Andimmediately he sets you up with
your director of underwriting.
And Jeremy, the director ofunderwriting is right out right
out the gate, hey, I got theserenewals that that need to be
priced. Let me show you how todo them. And I'd like you to do
this entire months of renewals.
(17:54):
And immediately, I'm just throwninto it. And I'm doing the work
that underwriters do, and I getto learn about it by being in
the process of it. And I thinkthat's really special that when
you've created a culture, whereyou can talk with your leaders,
and say, This is where I want togrow, this is what I want to
learn. And immediately, they'refinding opportunities for you.
Greg Hamlin (18:14):
And that's fantastic. And I'm such a big
fan of mentorships. In general,I think they're really
important. We did a wholeepisode on that there are a
couple of our associate claimsresolution specialists that I'm
doing bi weekly sessions with todo mentoring, because I think
it's important and it's how welearn is when we have people who
aren't maybe our directsupervisors who can step in and
(18:35):
show us the way and give us someideas of things that we can do
to be successful. So well, Iknow, we talked about some of
this, but maybe talk a littlebit more, what are some of the
challenges of running adepartment that's augmented by
interns? And then what are someof the benefits?
Luella Alcorn (18:49):
I think a lot of those are both challenges and
wins. So challenges are whenTristan and Luke have these
opportunities to be exposed toother departments, then they see
how much they shine. And I wantto have that all internally with
me and not let anybody else knowthat because then the second,
they see that they want to takethem from me. That is both a
(19:10):
challenge. And also a win. Imean, and again, that's what I
want. I'm super proud. And I'vesaid to Tristan, you know, I
want to send you off lovingly,you know, when that time comes
that you would go to anotherdepartment or be hired or
whatever. And again, I've hadthat experience with other
employees. So I think thechallenges only come with
(19:33):
wanting to find out how they canfeel fulfilled, you know, and so
I have one on ones with everyonein my department. So I'm
regularly conversating with themagain, are you the one that
wants to work your 16 hours andclock out and you know, you just
want to do the work, I'll meetthat need happily. And then do
you have other needs and I wantto make sure that I expose them
(19:54):
to those opportunities to makethe decision. Tristan had
mentioned when he first came tous, that was not his focus. In
school, and because of thisexposure, he's changed his major
and could potentially, you know,want a real long term
opportunity here, that is awonderful testament to how we've
made him feel the opportunitieswe've provided for him. So
again, some of the challenges ofhim being in school are also the
(20:16):
winds, because if he ends upstaying on with us, that's,
that's the biggest compliment wecould get. Right? A lot of times
when you're looking at a resume,like, Oh, I think this person
would be good. One of thebiggest compliments, Greg, that
you could give Tristan, is thatyou would vouch for him right?
And say, right, hey, you know,we have this opening, and I
think he would be great. That'sa wonderful compliment, right?
And then, you know, you know,what kind of quality candidate
(20:38):
we have. So really, you know,the only hard things I would
say, is just coming to, youknow, scheduling when they would
work and their availability, butit's all about communication.
And so again, in those one onones that I have with them,
they've got to communicate withme, even if that's a text
saying, hey, something'schanged, I'm not available this
week. And then I'm just wantingto be fulfilled, that's a
(20:59):
challenge, I really care to makesure that they're happy when
they're here. And I'm givingthem any opportunity that they
want that they want. Those
Greg Hamlin (21:06):
are great examples.
And you're right. And I havesaid that multiple times as
we've managed our entrance, ifthey say, Well, I think I want
to be a veterinarian. That'sgreat. That's okay. That's okay.
And things can change. And theymight not change, you know, one
of them, one of our interns wenton, and I think she's doing, you
know, graduate work on inveterinary school. And that's
fantastic. We had another of ourentrance, Jacob, I'll highlight
(21:29):
him, he, at the time was workingat Cracker Barrel. And now he's
a full time employee of ourresolution department and is
fantastic. And he'll Anil end uphaving editing this entire
podcast, and has the technicalskills to do that. So, so many
different talents can enter ourdepartment if we're open minded
to the internship program. And Iremember when I was working for
(21:50):
Indiana University Foundation,one of the things they said to
me early on was, we're not goingto be able to compensate you for
the level of work we're going tobe doing, and we compensate our
interns, but my point was, theypaid me a little more than what
you would get paid if you wereworking some hourly job while
you're going to school. But whatthey did is they gave me the
(22:12):
skill sets and the experiencesthat gave me the confidence to
be able to do so much more withmy career. And I really believe
there's no way I become a vicepresident of insurance company
before I'm 40 If I hadn't hadthose experiences early on. So I
do think they matter.
Luella Alcorn (22:30):
Even some of the the tasks like let's say
scanning the mail, right, that'snot a celebratory thing, you
know, as he's over therescanning the mail, right.
However, later on down the road,when there has an issue of some
sort, we tried to figure thisout, because he started with
scanning the mail, heunderstands the process of how
documents come in how they'relabeled, that is huge. To
(22:53):
understand that when you thenare sitting in an adjusters
chair and say, Hi, did this, youknow, non medical invoice come
in, and it didn't create a taskto me, he knows that because he
scanned it at one point inhimself and can understand that.
And then it also then says, ifthey're willing to take the time
to do those things, right, thenthey're absolutely willing to do
(23:14):
the other ones, right. So eventaking the time to do those
small tasks in the beginningreally makes a difference later
on for them.
Greg Hamlin (23:21):
Great, great points. So I wanted to go back
to you, Luke and talk about asyou transitioned in to your full
time position, how was itdifferent than your internship?
Luke Lenihan (23:33):
I mean, really, the only difference was that I
was moving from the businessengagement, like daily tasks
that I was doing to more of kindof learning how to underwrite
and, like, evaluate, like therisks of the new business and
renewals that we have. And Iguess the another difference
would be the people that I'd beworking with. So instead of
working with, you know, Shannon,and Stephanie and Louella, I'm
(23:54):
not working with Jeremy andSteve and Lesley and all the
other underwriters. But I thinkone of the benefits of working
with all of the underwriters isyou know, each underwriter has a
different way of kind of doingtheir accounts. So I can not
only see like how Jeremy's doingbut Leslie is doing and Steve's
doing, and they all do itdifferently. And like each of
(24:16):
their ways is like it's notright or wrong. But for me, I
can see what I see myself doingand how I see myself looking at
these accounts and these risks.
Greg Hamlin (24:25):
Great, great points. I think there's a lot to
be learned in that. And youmentioned something you know,
and I don't know why it spurredmy mind this direction, but I
know Luke, you're in Lexington,Kentucky. Tristan is in
Birmingham, Alabama, and we havehad interns in our Las Vegas
office. So we've had interns inall three of our offices.
Louella you're located inLexington, Kentucky, any issues
(24:46):
with trying to manage interns inmultiple locations.
Luella Alcorn (24:50):
Um, I see it as a pro because of the different
locations there's also differenttime zones. So then those
individuals are available Willyou know if I'm eastern time so
I'm let's say I'm done at 5pm.
Okay, but then I have an intern
working until four or 4 (25:06):
30pm.
Pacific time, that's 730. Mytime that we still have new
business being entered, ie modsbeing pulled, last run reports
being sent out, right. Andthere's not a huge gap of time
when everyone clocks out at 430in one timezone and doesn't come
back until 8am. The nextmorning, we get constant
(25:27):
compliments from theunderwriting department about
how they're surprised thatthey'll send an email to the new
business workflow, and that it'sentered into the system 15
minutes later, and it's 5pm.
Like, how does that even happen?
Well, it happens because we havepeople in all of those different
locations. So I see it as a pro.
Greg Hamlin (25:47):
I think in today's world, we're moving more and
more to a place where we have tobe able to manage people
remotely in multiple locations,the days of us all clocking into
the same office, those days areprobably done. Not that we won't
have locations, but I think it'sjust the world we live in has
moved to that. So figuring outhow to manage that and seeing
the advantages instead of justthe points where you're like,
(26:10):
wow, that's difficult. I can'tjust say hi to them at the
watercooler.
Luella Alcorn (26:13):
Now, some of the other things though, Greg is
here at Berkeley industrialcomp, every phone call I have
with them is video. So it's not,you know, in, I'm old, right? In
the old days, you know, when I'mcalling them and they can't see
me, I can't see them. So eventhough I'm not physically next
to Tristan, a lot of the times Ireally do feel a connection with
him because we have theconversations, he can see my
(26:35):
facial expressions, I can seehis I've been to the office, you
don't I mean, I have visited wedo know each other personally at
this point. He's even come toLexington. So those interactions
because we're through video arehelpful. And same thing. Of
course, with the people in theLas Vegas office, I see them
each time we're on the phone.
And that's a personalconnection.
Greg Hamlin (26:55):
Great points, great points. And we have to leverage
technology, if we're going to besuccessful on that. And we have
so many things that we can dothat we couldn't do 10 years
ago, that make things a loteasier. So switching gears
Tristan, I wanted to ask youthat same question about work
life balance. I know for youbecause I've worked around you
for a while that you are veryinvolved in clubs at school,
(27:15):
like a financial club, correct?
Tristen King (27:17):
Yeah, I'm in an investment club. UAB called the
Green and Gold Fund, we manageover over a million dollars.
Greg Hamlin (27:24):
So very involved in an investment club. Also
bragging on him a little bitscholarship student at UAB. So,
you know, certain level ofdedication to be able to
maintain a scholarship at schoollike UAB, and also very involved
in giving back in yourcommunity, as well as was
recently married in the summer.
So that's a lot to juggle. Sohow do you do that and an
(27:45):
internship and be successful atall of it.
Tristen King (27:49):
I think it's interesting, because of what
work life balance and how I'mjuggling it, because it's kind
of what I've grown up doingthroughout my entire time middle
school, high school, I was goingto church, I was playing sports,
I was going to school. And I wasdating, you know. So this is,
you know, this is things I'mpretty used to nowadays, you
know, I'm in school and clubs.
I'm not playing sports, butthat's kind of where my working
(28:10):
is now. And yeah, I got married,and we're having our ceremony
this year. But I just I don't Idon't see it from me as being
entirely difficult, just kind ofwhat I'm used to. But, you know,
I put out what's important tome, you know, work is important
to me, school is very importantto me, there's clubs involved in
you know, I've dedicated my timeto those things and in my
(28:32):
relationships as well. And sowhat's important to me, is at
the forefront, so I tend tofocus on those things throughout
my day. I don't, I don't like tospend too much time not doing
anything. I'm always trying todo something. So that's kind of
how I've been asked. So justsomething I've grown up doing
and very used to,
Greg Hamlin (28:51):
well, pro tip for somebody who's almost been
married 20 years now keep thedating going. He gotta keep
doing that. Right. Even thoughyour advice? Well, a couple
things. I wanted to wrap up withone. I wanted to ask both of you
these questions. So startingwith you, Luke, if you were
talking to an incoming collegefreshman, what advice would you
(29:12):
get them on internships?
Luke Lenihan (29:14):
I mean, I'd say I'd say have an open mind. I
mean, I'm sure almost everycollege has those career fairs
monthly or whatever, coupletimes a year. I mean, go to
those and like what's the worstthat can happen by talking to
somebody for 30 minutes or anhour? I mean, the only thing
you're going to get out of it isyeah, I like this type of
company or I didn't like it andyou lost 30 minutes but you
(29:37):
know, at least you know that youdon't like what that company is
doing or where that company isgoing. So yeah, keep an open
mind. Work hard in school. Andyou know, the first job you may
get their internship you may getyou might not like but it'll at
least you'll at least learnthings that will kind of help
you in your future career.
Greg Hamlin (29:55):
Great points. You know, a friend of mine actually
our actuary Matt Murphy has saidto me You know, people talk all
the time about their success,and boy, they got lucky. And
luck is part of it. But if youdon't put your sail up, you will
never catch the wind. So go intothe career fair, that's putting
your sail up, getting aninternship that's putting your
sail up. And, you know, the windmay or may not blow the
(30:17):
direction you want it to go. Butif you don't go to those things,
you won't you'll miss out onthose chances. And I think that
was a great point to make.
Tristan, I'd ask you the samequestion. If you're talking to
an incoming college freshman,what advice would you give them
about internships,
Tristen King (30:33):
the advice I would give to incoming college
freshmen about internships, isnumber one interview, go into
the workplace, meet the leaders,and get to get to have a little
feel for them. And number two, Ithink, to me is the most
important, like, it's just, forexample, throughout my college,
in the clubs, I'm in, you know,these individuals, these
(30:54):
students are very focused ongetting the big name, investment
banking, internships, these, youknow, these big offices where
they kind of under the shadow,and what was always important to
me was feeling valued in theplace that I work in feeling
that I'm important and that I'mcontributing something. So my
advice would be to find thatplace, find that company, that
(31:17):
you're able to perform yourinterest in skills and apply
them, but also a place that theyknow your name that you feel
valued, and that, that theyunderstand who you are, and what
your skills are. And where youcan apply them to just finding a
place that you feel value thatbecause your job is gonna be
your long term, you're going tospend the majority your time in
(31:38):
life in a career, my advicewould just be to find a place
where they feel valued, andimportant.
Greg Hamlin (31:45):
I think those That's great advice. And I also
like what you said about, like,maybe the big name isn't the
first place that you go, there'snothing wrong with the big
names. I started at one. But Ican remember when I've worked at
career fair when I was workingas a director for a state fund.
And we would see a line, a hugeline for a bank that was
(32:07):
nationally known. But the careerthat they had was a teller, like
just basically somebody at thefront desk, and we're right next
to them, and nobody knows who weare. And so there's nobody
talking to us. And I'm lookingat going, I know that our job
pays more than that job does,and has more opportunities, but
people just don't know who weare. So I like what you said
about being sure you get outthere and you just really do
(32:29):
some homework and check in onsome of those others that you
might not know about. Because ifyou again, if you don't, if you
don't do the homework, you'llnever know, everybody recognizes
the big names, but that doesn'tnecessarily mean that the best
place to start could be so greatpoints. So I want to also ask
you, Louella. So switchinggears, if you were talking to
employers, because there'sprobably a few that are
(32:50):
listening, that don't haveinternship programs, what what
would you tell them? And thenthey're thinking about it, what
would you tell them, why theyshould consider it?
Luella Alcorn (33:00):
Here at Berkeley industrial comp, were a
testament to what we've producedfrom starting that internship
program. And we've got, again,countless examples at this point
that came in as students stayedgraduated, we hired them, and
now they're valued employeeshere at Berkeley industrial
comp, it would be sad, you know,to know that we would miss out
on that opportunity and havethose very, very important
(33:22):
individuals that are here withus today, because of it, I think
it's an opportunity as well toshow that we're willing to put
in the time to people that wantthe opportunities, right, it
would be easy to say, I don'thave time to develop these
individuals and take the time totrain and mentor in those ways.
But we do value that. And it'sbeen a win for us.
Greg Hamlin (33:44):
I couldn't agree more huge, huge, huge believer
in it. And I would justencourage other employers who
have thought about it, to thinkabout it, you're going to be
able to get work done withpeople who are going to have a
fresh look at how that work getsdone. And you have the
opportunity to develop and growthem and give them exposure to
an industry that really needsexposure. So great, great
(34:06):
advice.
Luella Alcorn (34:07):
It's rewarding, it's been very rewarding to see
that.
Greg Hamlin (34:10):
Absolutely. And finally, the last thing I wanted
to do this year is each eachtime I've done one of these
episodes over the last fewseasons, I've wanted to put some
good vibes in the universe,because I just feel like there's
so much doom and gloom. And ifthere's one little thing I can
do to put some positivity outthere, I'm going to do it. So
(34:31):
for ending the season, I wantedto ask each of you something
that you're grateful for. So I'mgoing to start with Luke,
something you're grateful for.
Luke Lenihan (34:39):
Okay. I'm very grateful for my friends and
family and the health of kind ofall those who I love. And I hope
we start off this New Yearpositive and just kind of go
from there and hopefullyeverything goes into good
direction and everything keepsgoing well.
Greg Hamlin (34:57):
Awesome. Awesome.
Well, what are you grateful for?
We're
Luella Alcorn (35:00):
countless things I could go on and on, the thing
right now would be the supportof my husband. So I super busy
with my job. And he also has afull time position as well. And
then we have kids and grandkidsthat, you know, have lots of
interests. And we lead a very,very busy life, kind of passing,
you know, driving. And hissupport means a lot to me. It's
(35:24):
the extra stuff. It's not thestuff that you know, he needs to
do. It's extra stuff. So lastweek, one day, it was a work
from home day, and he happenedto be off work, and he brought
in breakfast to me and that, youknow, just an extra thing that
he did, yes. And then the otherday, I my daughter is in Girl
Scouts, and obviously, you know,Girl Scouts, Hill Girl Scout
cookies, and I'm the new mom. Sothey had, I'm now cookie
(35:45):
manager. So the guy gotvoluntold on that. And so I was
running out the door, learn howto do that. And it was a cold
day, and I was running aroundgetting things done. And I went
out to the garage, and he hadstarted my car for me to have it
more. So it's just those extrathings that support means
everything to me, and I'm superthankful for that.
Greg Hamlin (36:04):
What great examples. No, I feel bad. I'm
gonna have to go home and beextra nice to my wife. Sorry.
Very good. Oh, I like Chris. Imet her husband. He's a good
guy. Yes. So Tristan, samequestion, what's something
you're grateful for?
Tristen King (36:19):
I'm very grateful for my life. There's been plenty
of times throughout this pastyear where I've said, Do I want
to do this is this what I wantto do? A very peculiar about my
career choices. And what I'dlike to do. And it's been very
difficult trying to find a goodone. But she's been the person
that has provided thatperspective, and reminded me of
what's important in my life and,and my skills and my, my
(36:41):
abilities that they bring to thetable. And she just is a great
person and great support. Andlike I said, just that kind of
person that just offersperspective. To me.
Greg Hamlin (36:50):
Fantastic sounding words are important. If you
don't have one fine one, afriend, a spouse, somebody I
felt like most of the baddecisions I made in life is
because I did have a soundingboard. And the ones that I've
avoided in the good ones thathave happened, because I bounce
my ideas off of somebody. So Ithink Simon Sinek, who I love,
that's one of the things hetalks about all the time is find
a friend, find a spouse, findsomebody you can bounce your
(37:13):
ideas off of, because you'll geta lot further when you do so.
Great, great thoughts, greatwords of wisdom. Guys, I can't
be more proud of this episode. Ilove our interns. I love the
work that they're doing. Ireally hope that some people
listen to this and decide to goout and pursue some internships.
I hope some employers consideradding internships so that they
(37:35):
can develop their folks. And Iwould just end with our mantra
to do right, think differently,and don't forget to care. And
that's it for this episode.
Thanks, everyone.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.