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Milpark Student Takes Top Honors at IISA Gala Dinner Awards (2015)

14 August 2015
Shanaz Bangie

Shanaz Bangie

Top Milpark Education Graduate wins prestigious award from the Insurance Institute of South Africa.

Shanaz Bangie, a Milpark Education graduate, was recently recognised as the top student on the licentiate level for Milpark at the prestigious 42nd Annual Insurance Conference Gala Dinner Awards (2015) hosted by the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA). Bangie completed her Higher Certificate in Short-Term Insurance and graduated at the top of her class from Milpark Education’s School of Financial Planning and Insurance. This well-recognised award closely follows Ms Bangie’s recent acquisition of a Licentiateship from the Insurance Institute of South Africa. 

“I completed my BCom Honours degree many years ago and set myself a challenge to study further - something I thought I would not be able to achieve. I’m glad I took on the challenge; the short-term Insurance course I studied through Milpark has been highly beneficial from a technical perspective, has challenged my boundaries and has increased my knowledge base tremendously. I now understand complex insurance concepts like Reinsurance and Risk Management,” said Bangie from her workplace in Johannesburg. 

“For me the most important thing was having my spouse’s support and getting him to cook. And since I am hard on my children when it comes to their school results - I expect them to achieve distinctions in all their subjects - they in turn threatened to ground me if I didn’t achieve an overall distinction. They were my inspiration,” said Bangie. 

“My most significant takeaways from this academic journey are to remember to remain focused and disciplined, and that it takes real sacrifice to achieve great results. Time is the biggest challenge one faces when studying, especially when you work at a demanding full time job. My solution to this dilemma was to sacrifice family time. I also used some of my annual leave to study.” 

Bangie plans to pursue further studies related to Insurance, and intends to grow her career in the insurance arena. Her advice to fellow working students is simple: “Decide on what it is that you want to achieve and go for it full steam ahead. Focus on what is important.” 

Bangie’s final words of encouragement are a quote by Jim Rohn: “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day”. 

Ms Bangie, who completed her course on a part time basis whilst working full time as the Head of Claims for Standard Bank’s Insurance Services, acquired her Licentiateship after just 18 months. Generally, students enrolled for a Higher Education in Short-Term Insurance (NQF  Level 5) are allocated up to 60 months within which to successfully complete the course. 

“It is with great pleasure and pride that I acknowledge Ms Bangie’s extraordinary effort and academic achievement,” said Linda Gird, dedicated lecturer of Short-Term Insurance at Milpark. “This is the first time that there were awards for Milpark students - it is an auspicious moment in our history and Ms Bangie is truly deserving of the recognition. In order to secure a Licentiateship, students are required to successfully complete six challenging modules, four of which are compulsory. Students must also successfully complete two elective modules; this is where Ms Bangie’s efforts sets her apart from her peers. She excelled with straight distinctions, and most notably, selected one of the most challenging modules as an elective, where she once again secured a distinction whilst managing to significantly outperform her peers,” Gird said. 

Milpark Education takes this opportunity to wish Ms Bangie well in her future endeavours and particularly this August, which South Africans celebrate as Women’s Month. Ms Bangie’s exceptional effort and academic achievements have earmarked her as a modern pioneer, raising the bar, and encouraging current students and prospective students - in particular, working women and mothers - to perpetually strive for development and excellence on both a personal and professional front.

 

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