“I like the idea that risk is everywhere and that there are a lot of ways to prevent that,” Anna Righi said when asked about her choice of major. Anna enjoys that risk management is more than paying insurance -it can save lives.

Anna is part of the new generation of risk management professionals with a reinvigorated passion for the industry. “More than half of the current insurance professionals are going to retire within the next ten years. CU Denver is focused on trying to cultivate all of our passions as much as they can now,” said Anna of the initiative to inspire new risk management professionals.

Finding her Passion

Anna first entered the world of RMI when she was invited to an introductory course at CU Denver. This course was previously offered at CU Denver as a three- week RMI intensive program for high school students. This course taught Anna the basics of RMI and peaked her interest in an RMI career.

Despite this interest, Anna had forgotten about RMI and her introductory course when joining CU Denver as a finance major. Once in the finance program, she was contacted about an opportunity to double major with both the risk management and finance programs. “I’m really happy to be in the program. I kind of fell into it. I like that all finance students were contacted about the opportunity to join the RMI program since that’s how I reconnected with RMI,” Anna stated.

When asked what she enjoys about RMI specifically, Anna replied, “I’m always someone that plans in the long term and likes to be prepared.  I know there is more to insurance than being prepared but having the possibility and the tools to feel a little bit better about the future was something that interested me.”

Choosing CU Denver

“I liked the idea of a university in the city,” Anna said. After she and her family moved from Italy in high school, Anna experienced some culture shock. Despite this obstacle, she began to find comfort in Denver.

Since Anna was already acquainted with Auraria Campus, exploring CU Denver as a choice of college came naturally.  After touring the campus again as a prospective student, she knew she had found a good fit with plenty of potential for her future.

So far, this choice has proven to have been worthwhile. “I think CU Denver is a campus with a lot of people that want to work hard and I have been fortunate to meet a lot of them,” she said of her time at CU thus far.

Leaning into Leadership

Anna has truly made the most of her time at CU Denver. She is the Secretary of Gamma Iota Sigma, a professional business fraternity. She is the Treasurer of both the Pre-Law Society at CU Denver and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She is a member of the Finance subcommittee for the Business Student Ambassador Committee and a cohort member of the Rutt Bridges Venture Fund. She served for the Student Government Association as a Finance and Funding Senator in Spring 2020.

“One of the reasons I joined a variety of clubs with various interests is because I have different interests. I don’t agree with the mentality that you have to choose one career and just stick to it. Even if I study finance and risk management I am interested in the law and volunteering,” Anna said. “At times society can make you feel pressured to choose one path for the rest of your life, but I want to lean into my interests and explore various paths.”

Joining different clubs has been beneficial to Anna because of the value she has gained from meeting people with differing interests.

RMI Opportunities

With such an outgoing and involved student as Anna, it was only natural that she attended RMI Shadow Day. RMI Shadow Day is an opportunity available to all CU Denver students where students can shadow employers in the Risk Management field. Anna used this opportunity to meet with RMI professionals and network with employers in her field. She made connections with the broader industry, explored different paths and shadowed different positions within each company. “I think I got even more interested in understanding the different paths such as commercial insurance, personal insurance and the subcategories that exist within those fields,” said Anna.

Message to those Interested in RMI

“As 2020 showed us, anything can happen,” Anna said of how these unprecedented times have shown her the real-world impact of RMI. She now wonders about what businesses have insurance everywhere she goes. “When I enter a business, I find myself thinking, ‘do they have protection?’’’

Looking forward, Anna plans to take more classes and opportunities in the growing RMI field. She plans to keep exploring her other interests as well, and encourages other students to do the same.

“I think it’s good to try different fields and tools to understand what you want to do,” Anna suggests to CU Denver students. Anna deeply believes that having varying interests is a good quality, and one that should be embraced.

Lastly, Anna wants CU students to enjoy their time exploring college and future careers. “Enjoy it as much as you can! There are a lot of opportunities given by this program that allow students to truly learn all different aspects of the industry. There are endless ways to learn and explore a potential interest or career.  What I can say is to just get out of your comfort zone and participate as much as you can in all of it.”