I Will Sing the Fight Song for Anyone Who Asks
As a WMU student you might have found Duncan Purvis people watching in the Bernhard Center, and it turns out that his interest in people and their motivations has served him well as a financial services representative for New York Life Insurance Company and NYLIFE Securities LLC. He was recruited by New York Life at the WMU Career Fair and joined the company immediately after graduation. He has been building his practice ever since.
Active in both the Haworth College of Business student advisory board to the dean and the WMU student advisory board to the president as well as athletics, Purvis is a person who has a lot of experience leading by example and building trust. He also constantly applies what he learned in his finance courses about calculating the future value of either a lump sum amount or a routine periodic investment at an assumed rate of return as he speaks to clients about the pros of investing for retirement at an early age. His people skills combined with his knowledge of investment options are the perfect combination for his field.
His most influential experience in his practice to date has been his most heartbreaking as well, “Unfortunately, I sat with a couple who were starting their own business and needed life insurance to protect business debt, and because both had quit full-time positions to focus on their business, they ended up not buying the insurance because of a tight budget. Afterwards, the husband was diagnosed with cancer and given less than six months to live. The wife called me, and I had to tell her that there was nothing that I could do. It is a story that I will forever use to illustrate for my other clients how imperative it is not to postpone something so important,” he says.
As far as his most influential teacher, Purvis fondly remembers Dr. Tim Palmer as the professor who really made class come alive for him, “He always tried to make what we were learning applicable to what was happening in the real world, and he related his lessons to current events,” he recalls.
A frequent guest at Grand Rapids alumni events, Purvis has just as much Bronco pride as the day he graduated. “I will sing the fight song for anyone who asks,” he promises.
Where will you find Purvis when he is away from the office? Perhaps coaching or refereeing soccer in the Grand Rapids area, volunteering with the United Way Schools of Hope program or the YMCA Healthy U program, or maybe adding personal touches to the new home he just purchased with his new bride and fellow Bronco Christina (Trombley) Purvis, B.A.'07. One thing is certain, whether he is at the office or relaxing, Purvis always demonstrates his Bronco pride (and is ready for an impromptu fight song performance at any time).