First Year Students present insurance research in the "Danger Zone"

University-wide research conference makes room for new collaborations

Students present posters!

St. John's students share poster research

April 9, 2025

St. John's University's annual research conference appears a little more "dangerous" this year as a handful of first-year students displayed posters about various threats and the insurance industry's response to such dangers. This particular research was conducted as part of the Center for Student Successes (CSS) First Year Research Opportunity (FYRO) in collaboration with the Tobin College of Business. 

"The intent was to use St. John's Davis Library - which includes the nation's oldest insurance archives - as a spark for research into the history of threats and insurance," shared Dan Napolitano, Tobin's director of student services. "The students visited the library in Manhattan and were asked to explore an area of their choosing." 

Student researchers and their topics included Shaunte Boxill's Natural Catastrophes, Christina Ng's Art Insurance, Malcolm Whitman's Marine Insurance, Neil Sengupta's Pandemic Impact, Kazi Uddin's FinTech Insurance, and Autin Groves' Terrorism Insurance. The FYRO program, in its third year, saw substantial increases in participation under the leadership of Sarah Braden, Director of First-Year Programs for the Center for Student Success. The program is intended to strengthen connections between students and faculty, while encouraging research experiences during the pivotal first-year. 

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