By leveraging a high-impact internship and founding a campus professional chapter, math major Peter Kuselias ’26 is turning academic theory into real-world results.
Some students know what they want to do professionally long before they enter college. Others find out later on. Then there are those who recognize that they have a particular skill and a strong interest in it—so they simply end up exploring it academically.
In the case of Peter, he realized he had such a skill very early on—but he has accomplished quite a bit since becoming a student here. For one thing, he took on an exclusive and highly constructive internship, and for another, he founded and runs a local chapter of a noted student-industry organization.
"It's true that I never really knew what I wanted to pursue as a career, but I was always very good at math, which is why I decided to study it in college," says Peter, who is working toward his Bachelor of Science in math, with a minor in data science.
Peter won an internship opportunity last fall with Berkley Financial Specialists of West Hartford, Connecticut, a company that provides customized and comprehensive insurance options to a wide range of commercial organizations and financial institutions. "My role is to design and train an AI model to aggregate underwriting information and provide analysis," he explains. "The goal is to improve the efficiency and consistency of the underwriting process and allow underwriters to handle more submissions with complete accuracy."
The project has allowed him to apply his data analysis skills in a real-world setting and provides him with the kind of insurance business experience often available only in a professional environment. "I learned a lot about underwriting and risk assessment, as well as how to communicate information in a way that's accessible and thorough. I would like to express my appreciation to Mathematics Professor Fei Xue for working with me to make this project/internship opportunity happen." The end of his internship will coincide with his May 2026 graduation.
But there's more to Peter’s UHart story than this impressive internship. He was also the primary founder of the University of Hartford student chapter of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and serves as its president. SIAM is an international organization that works to advance the application of mathematics, promote research, and provide a source of information in the fields of applied mathematics.
It's not all numbers and calculations for the busy student, however; he also participates in many intramural sports. "That's been a lot of fun over the last three years," he readily admits.
Peter says he chose UHart for its small class sizes, which have allowed him to connect with faculty and other students in ways that may not have been possible with larger groups. Many of those connections will undoubtedly remain as he continues on toward his professional journey. After graduation, he plans to study for financial mathematics and probability actuarial exams, which are requirements for those interested in becoming actuaries. That may not have been a decisive childhood dream, but it certainly seems like something to which his journey may directly lead.
Peter Kuselias ’26, Math, College of Arts and ScienceI learned a lot about underwriting and risk assessment, as well as how to communicate information in a way that's accessible and thorough. I would like to express my appreciation to Mathematics Professor Fei Xue for working with me to make this project/internship opportunity happen.