Students Lend a Hand to Literacy Council


In the spring of 2010, Douglas Keeling and Louie Rubin of Professor Gayle Jesse’s Professional Web Portfolio course used their expertise to help a local nonprofit re-design their Web site, fulfilling a technological need in the community. It is hoped that the new Web site, which boasts improved navigability and a more streamlined layout, will make The Literacy Council’s valuable and high quality services more attractive and accessible to potential clients and volunteers. The project, while challenging, enabled Keeling and Rubin to learn more about the Greenville community and experience the complexities involved in working with a real client. “Dealing with real people, as opposed to examples from a textbook, provided the class both motivation and healthy pressure. This was a real project that was going to be viewed by the community, so it had to be done right and look professional,” says Keeling. “In addition, I never truly knew what services The Literacy Council provided or who could benefit from them. I was impressed to find out that the programs they offer are free to the public. I hope that the new Web site design will draw more attention to The Literacy Council and spread the word to those in the community who are looking to improve their reading, writing, and/or math skills.” The new site can be viewed here.

In March 2010 Chen Fu, a senior Mathematics and Actuarial Studies major, passed his second Actuarial Exam. The second exam of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is Financial Mathematics (FM), which consists of Theory of Interest and Derivatives Markets. The second exam has turned out to be more challenging since 2006, when Derivatives Markets was included in to the new course syllabus of Exam FM. Before 2006 the FM exam only included Theory of Interest.

Chen Fu passed his first actuarial exam (Exam P) in February 2009. Exam P focuses on Theory of Probability and its applications in risk management, which is also very challenging.  Chen Fu is originally from China, arriving at Thiel in January 2007. He will graduate from Thiel with a double major in May. Chen Fu has been admitted to the University of Connecticut where he will pursue his Master’s degree in Actuarial Science. Chen Fu would like to send special thanks to all of professors in the Math Department at Thiel for helping him in this endeavor – especially Dr. Wu! We are so proud of Chen and wish him continued success in his future career.