Vanderbilt grads tapped for internship at Lloyd's of London

by Alex Burkett

Lloyd's of London, the insurance marketplace and bastion of everything British, will get a zest of Vanderbilt culture this summer. That's when Vanderbilt seniors Meghan Donley, Brett Tesei and Nancy Kate Willeford begin a year-long internship with the venerated London firm.

"I guess I'm feeling a little of everything," said Willeford, an economics and Spanish double major who spent a semester with Tesei in Madrid last year. "I'm pretty excited."

Willeford will be working with Brit Holdings as an underwriter; Donley and Tesei will be trained as aviation brokers for aerospace insurer Aon Aviation, Tesei said.

Vanderbilt graduates have been working at Lloyd's for as long as the Walter C. Wattles Fellowship, which sends them there, has been bestowed upon graduating women. This year marks the fellowship's 33rd year.

Wattles, a 1936 graduate of the College of Arts and Science, established the fellowship in his name to give Vanderbilt women the chance to work in the competitive Lloyd's of London marketplace, then a male-dominated environment.

"Initially they were just doing some clerical work, things like that," said Betty Jane Taylor, associate director of the Career Center, who works with fellowship recipients. "But now they actively serve as brokers and underwriters. They've been given a lot more responsibility over the years."

Taylor said Vanderbilt's interns will take the same Market Procedures and Practices Examination that regular Lloyd's brokers and underwriters complete.

"We're to be commended on the caliber of people we're sending there," Taylor said. "They have maintained this relationship over this long period of time. If it were not a very positive relationship, they would not let these three people take the place of three Brits who might be employed there."

But when Donley, Tesei and Willeford take the exam next fall, it won't be the first hurdle they will have cleared.

"There were lots of interviews," Willeford said. "In the first round of interviews, everyone [who applied] was interviewed. Those selected for second interviews met with numerous past participants in January. It was one of those things where if you were picked for a late interview, it was understood that you would go [if selected]."

Donley, a double major in human and organizational development and art and art history, said she studied for a semester in Italy. While there, she soaked up an intensely European cultural experience: Her coursework included classes on Renaissance and Baroque art, Italian language and Italian wine tasting.

She added that the experience whetted her palette for the prospect of living in London.

"That's another reason why it'll be exciting to work at Lloyd's: to be in Europe," Donley said. "There's so much to learn just by doing that, by being there."

Tesei, a Spanish and communications double major, said the Wattles Fellowship sends a sound message to women graduates.

"It offers [them] a unique experience in the work force," she said. "Now, women can choose any career path they want similar to a man's. I think the fellowship simply makes women graduates feel special and unique."

Meanwhile, Donley, who has put aspirations to go to law school on hold for a year, said she's hopeful that the fellowship will reveal unseen territories as the year progresses.

"It's a really nice way to get your foot in the door," Donley said. "All the women we've met have been so nice, so helpful, written us letters. It's really a family-like atmosphere, and it gives you a good feeling."

But as for life after Lloyd's, the Atlanta, Ga., native said, she is keeping her options open.