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Vikki Pryor, S.USA President & CEO, Gives Back in Grandmother's Name CHICAGO -- Thanks to one woman's desire to give back, University of Illinois at Chicago Student Stacey Carter will return to college next fall with some financial help and much deserved recognition. Carter, an accounting major who has sustained a 4.0 grade point average throughout the past three years at UIC's College of Business Administration, was recently named recipient of the Marie Nesbitt Promise Prize, an award created by Chicago native and UIC CBA Alumna, Vikki Pryor.
Pryor, no stranger to achievement, earned her MBA from UIC's College of Business Administration in 1989 and has been serving as president and CEO of SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc. since 1999. The financial empowerment company has a Chicago office for its subsidiary, S.USA Life Insurance Company, located at 55 E. Jackson Boulevard; the Chicago location is home to both a lobby-level Customer Center staffed with licensed agents and same-building offices for the national company?s centralized marketing and sales function.
Several years ago, Pryor created the Marie Nesbitt Promise Prize in her grandmother's name as a means to inspire others to fulfill their potential. In addition to giving the annual award to a UIC College of Business Administration student for two years now, she has given the same annual reward for several years to a student at the New York State University at Buffalo from which Pryor earned both a bachelor's and law degree. She said, "My grandmother taught me how to believe in myself, that it was possible to be anything I wanted to be, and that it is important to serve others." Pryor leads a diverse workforce of nearly 250 employees in efforts to provide affordable and accessible life insurance to people in middle income brackets; together they reach out to serve people within communities nationwide.
Carter said her mother has been her biggest inspiration, teaching her to never settle for less. "I think if you dream it, you can do it," said Carter of her desire to land a career in accounting. She found out she loved numbers while working as an intern for the City of Chicago's Department of Finance Special Accounting Division the summer before she began college. She added that she tries to ignore negative influences that could keep her from achieving her dreams, such as comments people make about limited opportunities for both minorities and women in the field of accounting.
Pryor said "Stacey is a bright young woman whose determination has shown through in her academic achievements. It is an honor to recognize someone with Stacey's talent and see her moving closer to becoming one in our next generation of business leaders." The $5,000 Promise Prize is given to a student of African American descent who has demonstrated exceptional academic achievement and professional promise during their junior year at UIC. Pryor said "I created the Marie Nesbitt Promise Prize as a tribute to an extraordinary woman -- my grandmother -- for how she lived her life and what she stood for." Pryor adds, "I don't think I would be where I am today without the inspiration of my grandmother and many others along the way. It is such a blessing and an honor to be able to support someone else?s dreams."
More About the Promise Prize
Marie Nesbitt was born on August 16, 1917 in Clearwater, Florida and was raised in Kingstree, S.C.
A great granddaughter of slaves, Ms. Nesbitt's formal education stopped at the third grade. An inspiration to her family and friends, she believed and taught everyone she touched to reach for the stars by doing their best, to trust in God, to stand up for what they believed in, and most of all, to never give up. Ms. Nesbitt spent most of her adult life living on the west side of Chicago.
About SBLI USA/S.USA
SBLI USA markets a wide range of life insurance products to value-conscious consumers and diverse markets. The Company is dedicated to building lifelong relationships with customers and empowering them with the education and tools they need to take control of their financial destinies.
SBLI USA and its subsidiaries are licensed in 49 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. With more than $16.7 billion of insurance in force, $1.5 billion in assets, $124 million in surplus capital, 250 associates and nearly 380,000 policyholders, the company is committed to offering affordable, flexible and easy-to-access products through a variety of integrated channels, including direct mail, telemarketing, a bilingual Web site, licensed agents, and new Customer Centers, as it expands nationally.
SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc. is the parent company to SBLI USA Holdings, Inc., which owns subsidiary companies S.USA Life Insurance Company, Inc., and SBLI USA Diversified Services Company, Inc.
About the University of Chicago at Illinois College of Business Administration
UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu.
The UIC College of Business Administration is a research-based institution located in the heart of Chicago that cultivates a spirit of entrepreneurship through real-world experience. The college is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and offers both undergraduate and graduate academic programs.
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