I'm Crystal! I studied Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University (B.A.) and Math Education at Harvard (M.Ed.). After Harvard, I taught (generally) high school math for a bunch of years and tutored from pre-K to GMAT candidates.
Teaching was super amazing, but leaving teaching was even better. Too stressful! However, I still appreciate the value of communicating complex ideas in different ways. I am still rather passionate about education and continue to tutor part-time and on a volunteer basis.
I moved into the actuarial field a few years ago, starting in retiree health consulting. As as an entry-level applicant with no industry experience, I was pretty open to any employer that would have me :). But I am quite grateful I ended up where I did. In consulting, I got to see various applications of actuarial work which was great since I didn't even know that an actuary was a thing until 2010.
Also my co-workers were super knowledgeable and helpful. Also, I got to work in healthcare, which was awesome, and in New Jersey, which I believe is widely acknowledged as the greatest place ever.
I completed my FSA in 2015 and moved into healthcare analytics shortly thereafter. Analytics is super amazing, so to have more opportunities in that field, I started looking into P&C options, too. I completed my FCAS in 2017, and worked in predictive modelling for a P&C insurer for some years until moving to my current position as Director of Data Science for a subsidiary of a BCBS insurer.
In the spare time I have left to me after board games and dogs, I enjoy doing things related to education. I volunteer with City Tutors, a great program that provides free virtual 1:1 tutoring to students in New York City. During college application season, I volunteer as an interviewer for prospective Harvard kids.
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- Crystal Garcia, FSA, FCAS
About Crystal
I'm Katie. I studied Mathematics and Business at the University of South Carolina (B.S) and Education at Villanova University (M.Ed).
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I taught high school math for several years, but I have since left the classroom. I am still passionate about being involved in a learning experience.