TRAINEE underwriter Wayne Thorpe was recently named Sagicor Life’s Employee of the Year for 2011, two years after joining the company full time.

“(His achievement is) no small feat within a company that has 1,200 employees and a 30-year tradition of excellence,” Sagicor said in a release to Career & Education. “The awardee is rigorously reviewed (and) must consistently display the highest contribution in the areas of customer service, teamwork, creativity, innovation, social and community activities.”

The 23-year-old Thorpe is ecstatic over his win and noted that his line of work is not for “the faint of heart”.

“Risk assessment is not for the faint of heart,” he said, adding that he had initially found life in underwriting to be “emotionally taxing”.

“The challenges associated are very high. It involves working late nights because Sagicor Life operates in other territories, for example, Cayman,” he said.

However, the Jamaica College old boy has learnt to thrive under the pressure, using the challenges to fuel his motivation. The result, according to the Sagicor release, is that “Thorpe not only completed his tasks in true star form, but also managed to trim company expenses while doing so, through the use of technology”.

And he is no stranger to success. Thorpe, a graduate of the University of the West Indies, was nominated for the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2006, having served as Editor-in-Chief of the UWI, Mona Campus student newspaper, The Campus Beat and several other Guild publications. And from very early, began to make strides in his career.

“I always wanted to push myself, but the turning point was when I was contracted as a permanent member of staff in July 2009 as a trainee underwriter and knew that I had been chosen for a post that was highly sought after and carried great importance in the company,” he said.

The trainee underwriter position meant that Thorpe immediately joined the junior managers rank and was on his way up the corporate ladder.

“My current manager Mrs Lorna Salkey has guided me, I believe, on the path to excellence. She has provided many opportunities for me to display my qualities and show that I am an asset to the team. Her confidence in me is one of my many motivators,” Thorpe said. “My assistant vice-president Mrs Audrey Flowers-Clarke and vice-president Mr Mark Chisholm are also very supportive of my work and support me in so many ways, it’s hard to even describe.”

His immediate team members are also sources of motivation and encouragement for him.

Thorpe is especially proud when team members say, “I can’t think of anyone more deserving” and “well deserved, Wayne!”

Still, he has not lost sight of the fact that he has much more to accomplish and more obstacles to overcome.

“(There are) even greater things (awaiting me) as a member of a dynamic team like the one we have here at Sagicor Life Jamaica and I will continue to enjoy my recent acknowledgements,” he said.