Two young Bermudians have been accepted into a six-week summer programme for actuarial sciences through a new US-Bermuda education exchange.

Zai Daniels, 15, and Deontae Scott, 18, will join Morgan State University’s Summer Academy of Actuarial and Mathematical Sciences later this month.

They will be the first Bermudians to join the Baltimore university’s programme and get a taste of college life and actuarial sciences.

Karen Grisette, the US Consul-General of Bermuda who helped facilitate the move, congratulated them on their acceptance and initiative in applying for the programme.

She said: “I am so proud of the collaboration between the US Consulate, Morgan State University and corporate sponsors who have committed to supporting this new US-Bermuda education exchange opportunity.”

SAAMS is aimed at high school-aged pupils and puts its students through mathematics, actuarial science, and computer science classes.

Participants undergo three weeks of online classes before living on campus for another three weeks to explore the campus and Baltimore, as well as have in-person training.

Ms Grissette said that the opportunity came about after Candice Marshall, the director of Morgan State’s actuarial science programme, visited Bermuda in April.

She said that Dr Marshall extended her offer to Bermuda’s school despite registration closing at the end of March.

Ms Grissette added that international business partners and schools were quick to jump on the opportunity to strengthen the pathway, even offering to pay for accommodation and travel expenses.

Zai, from CedarBridge Academy, said that he had an affinity for maths since primary school and always wanted a career in the field.

He said his mother told him about the programme, but admitted he was initially sceptical.

He said: “I thought ‘I don’t know about studying with all these new people,’ but she said ‘you can do whatever you put your mind to’.

“I started to consider it and started putting more thought into it, then I thought ‘you know what, I actually want to try this’.”

Zai, from Pembroke, said the programme would be his first time travelling and that he was “very excited for the experience”.

He said that he was looking forward to seeing “actuaries in action” and getting career advice from them.

“You don't know what it’s like until the person who’s actually going through it tells you,” he added.

Zai encouraged people who wanted to explore actuarial sciences to stay committed: “Once you get started, you can’t stop.”

He added: “You never know where it can take you.”

Ms Scott, who recently graduated from the Berkeley Institute, said that she joined after recommendations from her teachers.

She has always been interested in maths and computer science, which led to her uncles, who were also actuaries, recommending the field.

The St George’s resident said: “They said it would be a little bit harder than most careers, but that I should do it because there are only a few actuaries in Bermuda, especially Bermudian actuaries.”

Ms Scott, who will be attending Bermuda College in the autumn, said that she was excited to get a taste of university life through the programme.

She added: “I hope it teaches me a lot and gives me a lot more information that I know now about actuarial science.

“I hope that I have a lot of fun.”

The programme will start on June 17 and run until July 28.