Skidmore Scope Magazine Annual Edition for 2017

23 SKIDMORE COLLEGE Insuring community values she had dreams of being a professor or novelist, but not a starving artist, so Cleyvis Natera Tucker ’99 did some creative career planning. Having earned a Skidmore bachelor’s in English and psychology and then anM.F.A. in creative writing fromNew York University, she wanted to channel her skills in critical thinking, writing, and un- derstanding human behavior. After a stint in publishing, which did not meet her expectations, she took the advice of a friend to consider a career in the insurance industry. That was 16 years ago; she’s never looked back. “I know this is nontraditional for someone with my academic background, but I find it very rewarding,” says Tucker, a native of the Dominican Republic who moved with her tight-knit family to New York City when she was 10. She calls her career “very creative work, but practical. As a director, I use my communication skills all the time, as well as what I know about motivation and decision-making, to train entry-level claims adjust- ers for success.” In fact, she says, she’s “passionate about the challenges of work in the insurance industry.” Recalling her student days as “the pillars” for her achievements, she says, “I was a senator in the student government, a residence hall counselor and director, editor of the Skidmore News, and a member of organi- zations that supported Hispanic and black culture on campus.” That cocurricular dedication hasn’t waned: “I am still engaged, at work and in the community, as a ‘good citizen.’ The benefits of my involvements at Skidmore became transferable skills, such as leadership and listening.” Living with her husband and two young children in New Jersey, Tucker has held fast to her Skidmore friendships. For her recent 40th birthday, she gathered at her mom’s for favorite foods (such as goat stewed in milk and spices) and celebration with Skidmore friends. She confesses she is already looking forward to her next class reunion in 2019. When she’s not on the road or in the office as a certi- fied claims professional, Tucker is a zealous half-mara- thoner and a voracious reader, both of fiction (last year’s Underground Railroad , she says, “rocked my world”) and of nonfiction, such as Harvard Review articles on emo- tional intelligence and effective leadership. In her scarce free time, she perseveres with some creative writing. At Skidmore, she concludes, “I developed the ability to overcome challenges, act and think outside my com- fort zone, and not always to accept the status quo but to make things right where I can.” —Helen Edelman ’74 Cleyvis Natera Tucker, who took the lead on be- half of herself and others as a student, has done the same in building her insurance career. Todd France ’89