Ben came to Northwestern after being home schooled and has excelled academically during his years at NWC. He passed an actuarial exam as a freshman, and is already an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA). He was also selected as one of the college’s Junior Scholars, and twice was a member of a Northwestern team that won regional Association for Computing Machinery collegiate programming contests. Ben also participated in a Summer of Service trip to India, and has been a resident assistant, academic tutor, Bible study leader, vice president of the Computer Club, and leader of the chess club.

It all adds up
“Math has been my favorite subject. I love the objectiveness of it. When I solve a difficult problem, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment. My dad is an actuary, and growing up, I wanted to be just like him. He’s given me some hands-on experience, which has whetted my appetite for more.”

Counting on help
“The thing that most impresses me about Northwestern’s math department is the faculty. They all care about me as a person and do their best to help me succeed. My freshman year, Dr. Huffman took the time to teach me one-on-one a course that wasn’t normally offered. Dr. Jongerius has led a weekly “math fun night”—a time for students to hang out together and solve unique mathematical problems. And though I’ve not yet had a class with Dr. Westenberg, he knows my name and greets me whenever our paths cross. All of them make classes interesting and show us how what we’re learning applies to the real world. I’ll never look at presidential exit polls the same way after taking a statistics course from Dr. Huffman.”

Problems and solutions
“Actuarial science is fascinating. We live in a day and age when everything is becoming relative and a matter of one’s own opinion. Actuarial science teaches us to analyze a problem objectively, balancing historical data, the present environment, and future predictions. When given a difficult problem to solve, one of the actuary’s first objectives is to make sure the problem has been defined properly and all of the correct questions are being asked.”

Adding in faith
“Actuarial science has helped me develop a balanced view of God. As Christians, when we think about what God is like, we often think of love and relationships. But God is also a God of order and precision.”