Women’s History Month: Meet Jennifer Casalone, Inside Sales Manager

Happy Women’s History Month! To honor and celebrate this month, we would like to highlight the important contributions women have made in the insurance industry. According to the Insurance Information Institute, women make up the majority of the insurance workforce, comprising about 60 percent. In 2020, “there were 1.6 million women employed in the insurance sector, accounting for 58.6 percent of the 2.8 million workers in the insurance industry.”

At Bearingstar we work with many inspiring female leaders, one of them being Jennifer Casalone, Inside Sales Manager.

Jennifer has been with Bearingstar since July of 2008. If her friends and family could choose three words to describe her, they would say she is kind, determined, and positive. One accomplishment Jennifer is most proud of is that she returned to college after serving in the U.S. Navy and became the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree. In fact, she received two: one in communication and one in business. “By the time I completed my degrees,” said Jennifer, “I was already a mom and it was much harder to balance work, school, and family, which made the accomplishment even more of an achievement.”

Jennifer meets obstacles in life with determination, perseverance, and optimism: “With every challenge that I have been presented with, I refuse to give up. I can’t control all things that happen in my life, but I can control how I react to them. I try to stay optimistic and am determined and I use the experience to make me stronger and better prepared for the next challenge that comes in the future.”

Being a mom to her amazing 16-year-old daughter, Jackie, is one thing Jennifer loves doing above all else. Jennifer says that it has been awesome watching Jackie grow into a young lady, and that she makes her very proud. Jennifer also loves to travel, and she is a big fan of Disney: “My daughter and I go every year to visit Mickey and friends. We also love to cruise and have visited many countries outside of the U.S.”

Jennifer cites her grandmother as her hero, saying she has always been an inspiration to her, although she passed away when Jennifer was still in high school. She has always tried to emulate her grandmother’s best qualities, saying: “It was not common in her time to be outspoken, confident, and independent; however, she was all of those things. She was a leader in the Order of the Eastern Star, The National Grange, and was involved in the community. I always hoped to be like her and make her proud.”

The advice that Jennifer would give to other young professional women starting their careers is to listen, learn, and absorb as much experience as possible. She would also tell them to be willing to be flexible and have patience in their journey. “Oftentimes, we want to rush to that next great thing, but take time to enjoy today,” she said.