Panama City, Florida native Zara Hood (RMI ’19) double majored in RMI and economics, with a minor in Spanish. As a sophomore, she conducted research on the management of catastrophic risks through FSU’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). 

Outside of the classroom, she was a member of Gamma Iota Sigma (GIS), and served as its vice president for event planning helping to coordinate GIS-sponsored events, including those related to the Insurance Days. She also attended a GIS Florida Regional Conference and the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA) Surplus Lines Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia. In the summer of 2017, Hood completed an internship on environmental sustainability in Costa Rica and, in 2018, she was an underwriting intern for AmWINS Success in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. This past academic year, Hood worked as an intern with McKee Insurance Agency in Tallahassee. 

Throughout her college career, Hood was passionate about public service. She served the FSU community as a resident assistant for three years, and says she helped residents grow as leaders and feel connected. She had a passion for PeaceJam, an international nonprofit organization that brings Nobel Peace Laureates to campus to inspire youth to promote change in their community. She served as this group’s student leadership council president. Through her involvement, Hood met three Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, mentored hundreds of youth from the southeastern United States, and worked on conferences dedicated to service at FSU, as well as in Miami, Florida and Thomasville, Georgia. 

Hood was the 2018 RIMS ERM Student Scholar and a 2018 Social Science Scholar.