At the age of only 16, Kallan Richardson is on his way to a prestigious American university.

Kallan has already graduated from Bermuda College as a dual enrolment student with an associate’s degree in actuarial science.

Now reinsurance company Arch Re, where Kallan is working, has pledged to help fund his time at St John’s University in New York – which can cost as much as $70,000 for international students.

Kallan, who flies to the United States today, said: “Schools in the US can be so expensive, especially as an international student. St John’s gave me a scholarship as well, which will help a lot.”

The scholarship is a joint partnership with St John’s University, Bermuda College and the Association of Bermudian Insurers and Reinsurers, which includes Arch Re.

The goal is to help Bermuda College graduates complete their reinsurance degrees at St John’s University’s Maurice R Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.

Kallan, from Smith’s, said that he had been interested in mathematics from a young age because of its problem-solving nature.

He initially planned to become an accountant but found a love for actuarial science in middle school.

Kallan told The Royal Gazette: “I find it to be more challenging and more dynamic.

“At the end of the day, an actuary’s there to make a prediction and hope that prediction’s right. I like the idea that I’ll be in that position.”

Kallan said that by the time he was enrolled at Berkeley Institute he jumped on the opportunity to join the dual enrolment programme.

He split his courses between school and Bermuda College for a year before taking all of his classes at the college.

Kallan added: “It was more challenging than my high school courses and it was more interesting.

“It also allowed me to get ahead, so that was one of the main things that got me to do it.”

He said: “The balance between schoolwork and personal stuff was important.

“In the last year I had just got a dog and had also been doing a lot of running and tennis, so I wasn’t just working all the time.”

Kallan started a part-time internship at Arch Re in March, which moved to a full-time position in May when he graduated.

Much of his time has been spent working on individual and group projects, which includes working with interns as well as senior employees.

Kallan said: “There are a lot of interns here and we’ve ended up working well together.

“I’ve also been able to get some first-hand experience with my future profession and other departments.”

Kallan hopes to take a break after his studies before moving back to Bermuda to work at Arch Re.