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Markel Specialty Scholarship

A scholarship reaffirming Markel’s commitment to providing equitable access to education.


Markel believes that education enables self-determination and the ability to realize personal potential. High-achieving students with limited means are the embodiment of both of these concepts. That’s why Markel is focused on promoting career development by improving equitable access to education—regardless of a person’s financial situation or background—and ensuring underrepresented groups have a path to success.

Attracting diverse talent to the insurance industry


Reflecting Markel’s commitment to equity in education and diversity in the insurance industry, the Markel Specialty leadership team introduced the Markel Specialty Scholarship in September 2020. The scholarship awards tuition aid to college students attending partner schools within one of Markel’s six geographic regions as well as its Home Office region.

“The Markel Specialty Scholarship is about broadening the appeal of insurance and creating a pool of candidates from different backgrounds and experiences who are aware of Markel and interested in working at Markel when they graduate college,” said Steve Girard, Markel Specialty Regional President, Southeast Region. “We may not be able to hire all the scholarship recipients, but at least they are aware that Markel supports careers in risk management and insurance, and diversity and inclusion within that segment.”

Along with providing financial support to award recipients, Markel Specialty’s regional underwriting teams work with each partner school on ways to educate students about insurance careers and early career opportunities with Markel.

“Through these scholarships, we want to develop relationships with the partner schools so that we can develop a talent pipeline to Markel,” remarked Mary Allen Waller, Markel’s Global Director of Community Engagement.

“Our goal is to be a presence on their campuses and attract talented students to our industry. We plan to host on-campus events with Markel employees providing information about the insurance industry, our company, and training that students might be interested in.”

Scholarship qualifications and partner schools


Markel has made a long-term commitment to award one Markel Specialty Scholarship per year at each of the following six schools: Appalachian State University (Mid-Atlantic Region), Illinois State University (Midwest Region), St. John’s University (Northeast Region), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (West Region), the University of Texas at Dallas (Mid South Region) and Florida State University (Southeast Region).

Markel Specialty leadership in each region identified these six partner schools based on Markel’s relationship with each school’s faculty and administrators, whether the institution offers a risk management and insurance major, and whether the school currently has diversity and inclusion initiatives and/or is willing to work with Markel to collaborate on such initiatives.

To become a Markel Specialty Scholar at one of these six schools, students must be a rising college senior identifying with an underrepresented group within the insurance industry and be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program or a concentration in risk management and insurance. Eligible students must also have intentions to pursue a specialty insurance career, demonstrate leadership abilities, have a minimum 3.0 GPA, and write a one-page essay on what the Markel Style means to them.

In addition, Markel awards six scholarships per year at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), which represents Markel’s Home Office region. VCU was chosen for its diverse, underrepresented student body, and rising college juniors and seniors in business or engineering (computer science) are eligible.

The university scholarship manager at each partner school handles the selection process, determining who meets the scholarship’s full qualifications and application requirements.

The future of the Markel Specialty Scholarship


After receiving positive feedback from the first Markel Specialty Scholars and partner schools, Steve hopes the scholarship continues to attract diverse talent. “We want this scholarship to be the gold standard in the industry,” Steve remarked. “Many partner schools did not offer diversity and inclusion scholarships in their risk management program.”

The Markel Specialty Scholarship also will continue to build on Markel’s legacy of philanthropy and reaffirm its commitment to supporting equity in education and diversity within the insurance industry. “With this scholarship as the first step, we can develop closer relationships with each partner school,” Mary Allen said.

Mary Allen Waller, Global Director of Community Engagement

This enables us to feed our internship programs, advance our early job and career opportunities, and be more engaged with our communities in those locations. It’s a really good way to extend our community engagement in those locations.

Markel’s history of philanthropy for education


Markel has a long legacy of supporting education at all levels of learning. Starting with its first endowment at Virginia State University in 1995, Markel has continuously provided financial support for equitable access to education. Here are some examples:

Funding college endowments and scholarships

  • Bermuda Foundation For Insurance Studies (BFIS)
    Markel has been a donor and an internship sponsor of BFIS since 2000.

  • Reynolds Community College
    In 2007, Markel partnered with Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia, to create Markel Business Scholars, a scholarship fund for community college business students. To date, the fund has provided tuition support to 22 students.

  • Spencer Educational Foundation
    Markel has been a donor since 2009.

  • St John’s University, Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management
    Markel has been a donor and event sponsor since 2005.

  • Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC)
    Markel has donated to the VFIC since 1991. Markel employees have served on the VFIC Board of Trustees since 2008.

  • Virginia State University
    In 1995, Markel established an endowment with Virginia State University, a historically black college and university (HBCU) located in Petersburg, Virginia. The Markel Scholarship Fund has provided financial support to 31 students.

Helping high school students through workforce development programs

  • Partnership for the Future (PFF)
    Markel has supported PFF since Alan Kirshner created this not-for-profit equitable college access program in 1994. PFF provides paid summer internships and skills-building programs throughout a participating student’s high school years. The program enables first-generation college students to fulfill their dream of a college education. Markel hosts 8 to 10 interns each summer and contributes substantial financial support to sustain PFF’s operations.

  • Cristo Rey High School
    In 2019, Markel expanded its support of high school internships to aid students attending Cristo Rey High School in Richmond, Virginia. Markel hosts four Cristo Rey students during the school year for work-study internships and provides financial support for the program.