February is Insurance Careers Month, so I’d like to take some time to talk about my personal experience in the industry.

I am an Information Technology (IT) application developer which, for me specifically, means I do programming for online interactions with policies, quoting, loss control, and other functions. As a support role, my main objective is to make life easier for the other operations. I love doing this! Knowing that something I built (or fixed) saves someone else 5 or 10 minutes a day really makes the work feel worthwhile.

I never really intended to work in insurance, but I guess it runs in my veins. My grandfather was an agent or agency owner for much of his career; my mom, aunt, and at least one uncle were in the business as well. My very first job was as a clerical assistant at my grandfather’s surplus lines agency entering policy information into a spreadsheet and filing the physical copies. Maybe not too exciting, but I like keeping things organized so I enjoyed it.

During this time, I also took my first job in professional IT work. My grandfather wanted a web presence for his agency, so I designed and built a website where dangerous dog breed owners could enter their information and request a quote for liability coverage.

Once I started looking for real-world IT jobs, I found an opening here at Central. I love the small-town community culture, and I love what I do every day: supporting a company that supports people through the uncertainties of life.