Tanya Collin ’12M

Tanya earned her Monmouth degree in Financial Mathematics and is a Senior Analyst with AmeriHealth New Jersey. Below, please find the story of her academic and professional journey:

After 12 years in the educational field, I decided to pursue my dream of working for a strong financial/insurance company where there would be room for growth and also provide a good level of work-life balance. To pursue my dream, I needed to be better equipped to make the transition from an academic to a corporate environment.

After researching my options, I decided that Monmouth University had the most suitable programs to help me meet my goals. Their financial mathematics curriculum had just been introduced to the University. The curriculum had a great balance between economics, accounting and mathematics courses. The fact that I could pursue my Master’s degree at a manageable pace was also very appealing. I highly valued the luxury of being able to both have time for family and continue teaching while pursuing my dream.

From the very start, the support I received from the mathematics department was outstanding. The communications I received regarding the process was always clear and accurate. The professors were super prepared in their subject matter and extremely knowledgeable, not only from a theoretical stand-point, but also from a practical real-life point of view. Many, if not all, had experience in a corporate setting. This was critical for me given the path I was on.

Dr. Coyle who was the chairman of the department at the time was extremely accommodating and encouraging during my independent studies. The combination of flexibility and rigor to the independent studies were above my expectations. Dr. Bastian and Dr. Chaudhary provided much in terms of real life application to the knowledge I was acquiring.

After almost three years of working through the program, I was so happy to have my husband and 8-year-old daughter attend my graduation at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. I can remember them cheering me on while my name was being called. It was a beautiful day. I knew that I was now better equipped, and had received the additional confidence necessary, to begin my journey into corporate America.

Within a year I began working for AmeriHealth New Jersey, a health insurance company in Cranbury, NJ. I was given the position of a Junior Medical Cost Analyst. During this time, I was exposed to and worked with various software applications used to analyze medical claims and membership data and create reports for customers, hospitals, and internal management. After three years I was promoted to a Senior Analyst where I began working with Tableau (a business intelligence software) helping to create and customize dashboards used by management and working on hospital contract models. Providing transparent and easy to follow reporting which entails also soliciting feedback on how reports can be further improved to better serve our internal departments is always part of my everyday mode of operation as a Senior Analyst.

Last June, I was selected to participate in a one-of-a-kind employee development program launched by Mika Brzezinski, founder of “Know Your Value” and co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, in partnership with NBCUniversal. The program provides employees an opportunity to attend an exciting series of workshops and development events that are aimed at helping them achieve success.

In addition to my everyday responsibilities as an Analyst I am also now a co-leader in our “Diversity and Inclusion Council”. The ability to participate in these other aspects of corporate life continually present me with new opportunities in the area of communication and team-work.

Given all these newfound responsibilities, I am still home every night at the dinner table with my family and have time during the weekends to be part of my community church. Finding my position at AmeriHealth has truly been a dream come true for me. It is great to work for a strong company where there is ample room for growth, with leaders who care about the well-being of their employees. It has been an honor to share this part of my life experience with the Monmouth University Community.