Emily Pratt Farnham-Haskell

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I am currently working as a Proposal Design Consultant at National Life Group. National Life Group is a financial service company that offers life insurance and annuities, and it is located in Montpelier, Vermont. I began working at NLG over ten years ago as a Product Development Actuarial Intern. I held that position for 7 months and then transitioned over to a job on the illustration’s team (the team that I am still on today).

I worked two days a week the Spring semester of my Senior year and began working full-time the day after I graduated from Saint Michael’s College. I still work closely with the Actuaries that I interned with, but as opposed to helping create & price the products, I now bring them to life in the illustration system.

I spent my first five years on the team testing our illustration software. That included reviewing requirements, writing test cases, performing tests and managing defects. I then transitioned to a role on the team where I designed and developed the illustration output. While testing was still a huge part of this new role, I also had the chance to get creative by designing simple, clean, and modern illustration output and the chance to learn to develop in C#. Early in 2020, my role shifted again, and I was offered the opportunity to manage a team that designs, develops, and tests the illustration output. In this leadership role, I have had the opportunity to continue to do the designing and developing that I have grown to love, but I have also had the opportunity to learn a completely different set of skills: coaching, empowering, communicating and developing (just to name a few).

Saint Michael’s prepared me for life after college at National Life Group. A fellow SMC alum who worked at NLG helped me to get my foot in the door through my actuarial internship. The power of SMC’s network in action!

By majoring in math I learned how to problem solve…a skill that has served me very well in my role today. My love and understanding of numbers has also served me well. While I am not on the team that tests the values within the illustration system, my familiarity with the values and how they work allows me to jump in and help that team as needed.

I am extremely thankful for the education that I received at SMC and for all the professors who were so critical in my experience & growth.

If you are interested in pursuing a career at National Life Group or in software testing/design/development/leadership, please don’t hesitate to reach out any time: efarnhamhaskell@gmail.com.

Contacted via e-mail as a resource for current students: Yes