Clark Billups ’17

1. What was your major/minor and when did you graduate?

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, 2017

 

2. What is your current position (title, company, location)?  Can you describe a typical day?

I am a Catastrophe Claims Adjuster with Liberty Mutual Insurance. Throughout the year I travel to various cities conducting inspections after a large weather event. My typical day includes meeting with customers and their representatives, investigating losses, determining coverage, and negotiating estimates. Every day is different posing new challenges with coverage issues, travel logistics, and different customer personalities to name a few. Although my office is technically in Orlando, I live in Fredericksburg about a mile from campus.

 

3. How did your major prepare you for your current job?

The most important part of my job is managing the customer experience. Before taking the catastrophe claims role, I worked as an Agent with Liberty Mutual for two years out of college. As an Agent, I learned how to work with people though my failures and success. When I transitioned into my new role, the company taught me everything I needed to know about construction, estimating, and coverage.

 

4. How did you become interested in your field?

I met my first boss, Morgan Applegate, at a speed networking event my freshman year at UMW. During my job search as a senior, I used my network to land an internship with Liberty Mutual. There I learned that insurance challenged me intellectually and I found it extremely fulfilling to work with customers and our business partners.

 

5. What’s the best career advice you ever received?

Stay positive and always act professional. No one wants to work with someone who is always complaining or blaming others for their problems. As you move up, your colleagues are your best resources and can make or break your chances to get promoted.

 

6. Was there a professor, advisor, or fellow student who made an impression on you or helped you when you were at UMW?

I will always be thankful to all the faculty and staff at UMW. One of the many who supported me from day one was Andrea Cordray. Andrea was the outreach coordinator for the COB. She was instrumental in helping me build my network and find placement out of college. When students ask me how I went about looking for jobs and internships, I always direct them to the resources at the COB outreach office.

 

7. What’s your fondest memory of UMW?

I had many fond memories at UMW. One of my fondest academic achievements was working on my Applied Statistics and Business Research final project in Dr. Belleh A. Fontem’s class. It was one of the most involved group projects that I had during my tenure at Mary Washington.

 

8. Are there any special accomplishments you’ve achieved after college that you’d like to share?

One of the proudest moments of my life after college was coming back to help recognize my Fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi’s, chartering as a permanent chapter at the University of Mary Washington in 2018. We had started as an interest group in 2015 while I was a junior. You may recognize the fraternity from the free UMW Safe Rides program that is available to all students from 10PM-2AM Friday and Saturday. I continue to volunteer as their Grand Chapter Adviser assisting them with key decisions.

 

9. How would your family or friends describe you in seven words or less

According to my Mother, “A loyal old soul that loves adventure.”

 

10. In one sentence, what advice would you give current business students?

Your network is what gives you the opportunity to succeed out of college, so go into the real world and meet people.