About

Mission Statement

Gamma Iota Sigma aims to promote student interest in insurance and actuarial science while building connections with current members, alumni, and industry professionals. Gamma Iota Sigma is open to all majors and individuals interested in risk management and insurance. We encourage professional development of our members with opportunities to network with students and industry professionals, hosting resume workshops, mock interviews, etiquette workshops, and more. In addition, we encourage the personal development of our members with opportunities to serve our community and improve the lives of the people around them. The success of this chapter will ultimately be measured by our ability to encourage members to develop themselves personally and professionally. We are the next generation of industry leadership.

National History

The idea of a national scholastic insurance fraternity actually started to become a reality when the Griffith Foundation for Insurance Education filed for incorporation in 1965. The following year, the OSU Insurance Society, which started at The Ohio State University in the early 1960′s, petitioned and was chartered as the first Gamma Iota Sigma Chapter, thereafter called Alpha Chapter. At Bowling Green State University, Beta Chapter received its charter in 1967, and in 1969, the University of Cincinnati was chartered as Gamma Chapter. There’s the beginning of what has now grown into a nucleus of over 75 chapters located from California to Connecticut, and from Canada to Florida. Gamma Iota Sigma now boasts an annual membership of more than 4,000 students and an alumni population of over 25,000.

Chapter History

On August 31, 2018, our “First Five” (Ann Pogrebitskiy, Ben Spargo, Logan Lewis, Spencer Key, Michael Schneider) met with Actuarial Science Program Director, Sue Vagts, to discuss the possibility of a Gamma Iota Sigma chapter at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. After communicating with the Grand Chapter and attending the 47th Annual International Conference, UNL was approved to charter a chapter.

After fostering interest in the organization by hosting a service event for the Children’s Hospital of Omaha, the Gamma Iota chapter officially chartered with more than thirty founding members on February 7, 2019. The GIS President of the Board of Trustees (Wesley Griffiths), GIS Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives (Sharla Floyd), as well as several company representatives from the area were in attendance.

In our first semester, we held events every other week, and much of our Executive Team attended the Drake Symposium in Des Moines. Following a strong start, the Gamma Iota chapter continues to strive for excellence in preparing our members for careers in insurance.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced our organization to move online and suspend travel. However, our organization found ways to virtually develop members through recruitment events, professional skills workshops, and special topics meetings.

In the fall of 2020, the organization elected its first executive board without a founding GIS officer. Natalia Koval was elected president and helped lead the organization amid a period of declined campus involvement. Members attended in-person and hybrid meetings, and the executive team traveled to the GIS Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio.

In 2022, our “Saving Six” (Nick Lauver, Connor Boudreau, Megan Chaffey, Sam Gilbert, Caitlin Murphy, and Carlos Fuentes) set out to revitalize the organization by building a community, revamping the dues structure, and bringing in insurance innovators. The team brought in three insurtech CEOs and organized travel to three conferences in the span of one year. They also organized the first annual “Meet the Firms” meeting (the largest campus recruiting event hosted by the organization), the first annual Top Golf Networking Event with the Chi Chapter, and the first company visit since the pandemic started. The chapter doubled in size, and average meeting attendance tripled.

Symbols

Coat of Arms:

The Coat of Arms for Gamma Iota Sigma is in the shape of what is known as a fire mark. Fire marks were made of iron and placed on the exterior of the buildings on insured properties so as to identify the specific fire company that, in the event of a fire, would serve to extinguish it. The fire mark is decorated with the symbol of the four clasped right hands. Each hand is representative of one of the four ideals upon which the fraternity is based: friendship, knowledge, integrity, and fidelity. Beneath clasped hands are the Greek letters for Gamma Iota Sigma.

Emblem:

The Emblem is a shield in the shape of an inverted triangle. Inside a narrow border are Greek letters for Gamma Iota Sigma. Each of the three sides symbolize three of four fraternal ideals.