Khrystal Holland is a finance major at Drury University and an intern at American National Property and Casualty. We spoke with her about her experience as an intern.
Tell us about the company you work for.
American National Property and Casualty (ANPAC) was founded in 1950 and offers a variety of insurance services including life, commercial, and auto insurance. The headquarters are in Galveston, Texas, but there are locations in Glenmont, Springfield, and League City. Within the company, there are different companies for each branch of insurance. For example, Farm Family writes commercial insurance and its headquarters are in New York. In Springfield, our main focus is Property and Casualty, but we have recently been branching out to include some commercial business. Not only have I learned a lot of valuable information for when I have to buy my own homeowner’s insurance, but I have learned a lot to help me in the financial world.
What are your duties?
My duties at ANPAC include reviewing property inspections, issuing recreational vehicle policies, and helping underwriters with a variety of other items. My tasks change daily and I help where I am most needed on that day. I must learn the laws and regulations of the states where we write insurance so that I am compliant with the state laws. I have also worked with Excel on a handful of projects which has helped me learn a lot of useful information for both work and school. Last spring, I spent the majority of my time learning about homeowner’s insurance and this fall, my focus is on auto insurance. Many people have never heard of underwriting and I have to explain what I do often. In the simplest form, my job is basically reviewing an insurance policy before it is actually issued and becomes concrete. After it is issued, I can make many updates to the policy including non-renewing it for things like poor roof conditions and canceling the policy because of vacancy.
What do you enjoy the most about your internship?
I really enjoy the people I work with at ANPAC. Since there are a lot of things that I do not know, I am constantly asking questions and everyone is always very kind and receptive in answering them. It’s very important to me to be around people that improve my mood and my coworkers are always doing that. We also have parties for birthdays and holidays which are very enjoyable. I feel comfortable when I go into work and I love that feeling. One of the biggest factors in choosing a job for me is the people I am working with and the people I am working under. Since I work in an office setting, it can get boring sitting at a desk all day. It’s nice to be able to go and talk to others freely.
What are your plans after graduation?
After I graduate, I would really like to move to the Fayetteville, Arkansas area. They are rapidly growing and I think it would be good for me to get out of Missouri since I have always lived here—I love a change of scenery every once in a while. I plan on getting my CPA license and hopefully working at a CPA firm. I’m not quite sure exactly where I want to work, but ideally, I would love somewhere with good benefits and flexible schedules. I am also getting married in the fall of 2020, so I want to make sure I have time to spend with my family after graduation.
What recommendation(s) would you give other Breech students about internships?
To other Breech students, I would tell them to take multiple internships and complete it sooner rather than later. I have only had one internship and while I feel like it has been very beneficial to my life apart from work, I would have loved to have learned more about accounting. You also want to be sure that you actually think you will enjoy the job you are wanting in the future and an internship should be able to help with that. It’s also nice to be in a setting where you are most likely going to be for your career. Working at a restaurant or in retail is much different than working at an office with people that have more experience than you.
Needing help to find a great internship of your own? Contact Career Planning & Development by email at career@drury.edu for seriously helpful resources.
If you’re interested in more information about the Breech School of Business, contact us by email at breech@drury.edu.