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(By Meredith Haas ’24, editor-in-chief)
Ryan Pickle never saw himself playing collegiate baseball, but when the opportunity presented itself, he couldn’t refuse marrying his love for the sport with a quality education.
Unsure of what major would be a good fit for him, he chose business administration knowing that many business fields were interesting to him, but he wasn’t quite ready to commit to just one.
“I liked the adaptability of the major,” he said. “It allowed me to learn about and explore different areas of business and broaden my knowledge of business operations. The goal was to ultimately find what was the best fit for me and choose my career that way.”
Having decided on a major, Ryan felt more confident in his decision to be a student-athlete.
Ryan was recruited to LVC as a pitcher, a role that would go on to shape his next four years as a Dutchman.
The skills Ryan learned as a member of the baseball team translated into the classroom, but also far beyond; how to be a leader, how to be a good teammate and how to put your best effort into everything you do are all skills that Ryan can transfer to every aspect of life.
“As a college athlete, I really refined my leadership skills,” Ryan said. “I understand that for a team to be great, it takes a diverse group of people with different talents, skills and abilities. As a college athlete, it helped me embrace different ideas and styles, which has really helped reshape my vision in a future job, and just life in general.”
A member of two MAC Commonwealth championship teams, he experienced firsthand the importance of the culmination of these skills—a mental note he would be sure to always carry with him.
Ryan’s dedication both in the classroom and on the field helped land him an internship position at Harford Mutual Insurance Group, a growing regional provider of property and casualty insurance based in Bel Air, MD.
Here, Ryan worked as an intern in the underwriting department.
“I worked with the underwriting team on various tasks, including loss summaries for new business entries and endorsements to current policy holders,” Ryan said.
Aside from his day-to-day responsibilities, Ryan worked with a fellow LVC student and intern, Brent Moody ’24, on a summer-long project.
“It was our job to look into the company’s current policies and see if their properties were insured to value,” he said. “This is a problem throughout the insurance industry that Harford Mutual wanted to tackle right away.”
The pair was tasked with presenting their findings to the underwriting department and executive officers—the CEO, CFO and COO.
While it was a daunting task, Ryan left his audience impressed. By October of his senior year, Ryan received an offer for a full-time position as a commercial underwriter.
As Ryan prepares to start his future career in late May, he reflects fondly on all the memories he has shared with his friends and teammates. A historic 2023 season, three MAC championship appearances, hours upon hours of practice—each having made his college experience so memorable.
“Although [the schedule] was very demanding, it was worthwhile because I developed so many lifelong relationships that I will forever appreciate.”