:: About Tammy

Most people these days will tell you that you can't make it in this world without a college education.

Well, to them we say: you better believe you can!

Sure, it may be a challenge. And for people like Tammy Harney, senior underwriting analyst at ACE Tempest Reinsurance Ltd., it may be the greatest challenge she will face. But with perseverance and the willingness to learn, all things are possible.

Tammy joined Tempest Re three years ago as an analyst and was promoted in April of this year. After leaving school in 2000 she spent a year in the business programme at the Bermuda College, working at Tempest Re part-time.

But she soon realized school wasn’t for her. “I liked getting the hands-on experience,” she said, “and learning what a job offered. So I started working full-time after a year.

“I lend support to an underwriting team in risk analysis and pricing. I also assist with running software models and monitor property aggregates.”

In addition, Tammy last year passed the first of her four exams towards an Associate in Reinsurance. “Within the next two years I would like to pass the other three and make the transition from analyst work more into underwriting,” she said. “I can see myself staying here (in Bermuda) in the long run, but I can also see myself maybe spending a little time at another one of our companies to gain some more experience as to how our other companies work.

“Progressing in the workplace without a college education - that is probably the biggest challenge I have faced,” she said. “But even that hasn’t really been too bad, ’cause I’ve worked really hard to get where I am. I think that is something I will probably have to deal with a lot more in the future.”

The thought doesn’t seem to scare her though. “As I progress further and gain more experience, as well as get my Associate in Reinsurance, it probably won’t be too bad,” she said. “I still feel that I have made the right choice - and do not regret it for a second.

“School was just not for me, and it still isn’t at this time, but someday I’m sure I’ll be ready to commit to it fully and that is when I’ll be ready to go back.”

When she’s not working or studying for her exams, Tammy goes to the gym four or five times a week and hangs out with her friends every chance she gets. What does she like to do with them? “Take as many trips off The Rock as possible! New York, mostly … great shopping … but Miami is pretty great too.”

She has some words of advice for young Bermudians who, like her, are struggling to make it in Bermuda’s international business workforce without a college education: “To persevere, never be afraid to ask for help with something, and to learn as much about the industry as possible.

“Yeah,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll be making millions. Someday!”