We are proud to announce that Siyue (Celeste) Zeng is the first recipient of the Bernbaum Family Endowed Scholarship. This award recognizes a talented undergraduate student based on their academic achievement, demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in actuarial sciences, and diversity.
Celeste Zeng is currently an undergraduate student majoring both in Applied and Computational Mathematical Sciences (ACMS) and Computer Science, minoring in Entrepreneurship. She has been heavily involved with the UW Actuarial Club as an active member since 2018, her freshmen year at UW, playing a role as an officer, webmaster, and mentor to other new members. She is currently the Vice President of the club and will transition to her role as President next academic year. She anticipates graduating by the end of Spring quarter 2022.
Zeng plans to use the award funds towards her own actuarial study materials, registration fees, and exams. In additional, she plans to donate a portion to the UW Actuarial Club. “I sincerely appreciate the donor of this scholarship and the UW, and I think this scholarship can encourage UW actuarial students to strive for academic excellence and to become outstanding actuaries,” says Zeng. “I am more than happy to offer support to those who are interested in pursuing a career in the field of actuarial sciences.”
The Bernbaum Family Endowed Scholarship was established in 2019 by Sanford (Sandy) Bernbaum, a UW alumnus (B.A., 1964 Business). Sandy had a close relationship with an actuary, who played a major role in his life - partly influencing Sandy's career in life insurance. When working with his financial advisor on some funds Sandy had available to donate, the financial advisor suggested supporting individuals at UW interested in actuarial studies (in honor of his friend). Sandy liked this idea, and thus the Bernbaum Family Endowed Scholarship at UW was established.