This summer, I kept joking that I was having my own “Beyoncé Summer.” While Beyoncé brought her daughter, Blue Ivy, along on tour as a backup dancer, I brought my own daughter, Scarlett, into the world of insurance as a summer intern at Ricci Insurance Group . And just like Blue Ivy, she rose to the occasion.
From day one, Scarlett set her own goal: to save up for a vanity (because like every 12-year-old girl in America in 2025, she’s currently obsessed with skin care). That was her short-term motivation, but I made sure she also learned about the power of long-term goals. Thanks to our daily commutes filled with financial literacy audiobooks (and of course, insurance industry podcasts), she now understands how the money going into her Roth IRA can compound for decades to come…something most adults don’t even think about!
Those commutes also doubled as impromptu insurance school. I quizzed her with real-life claim scenarios: “If the red car hits the silver truck and passengers are injured in both cars, what coverage applies?” Or, to make it trickier: “What if it happens an hour north in Georgia, and the car isn’t being driven by the owner?” (The real ones will immediately respond with, “Out of car, out of state, out of luck.” IYKYK.)
Beyond the car-ride lessons, Scarlett got exposure to many aspects of the business:
Looking up flood maps
Helping coordinate IT projects
Creating social media content in Canva and CapCut
Taking out plenty of trash and decluttering spaces
Joining photo shoots and educational presentations on-site at client locations
Attending networking events (including one where she spoke in front of a packed room!)
Visiting an entrepreneur think tank in Ponte Vedra for a behind-the-scenes look at innovation
I made it a point to bring her anywhere it wasn’t inappropriate for a 12-year-old to be, and we had plenty of fun along the way. She finally admitted she likes Chipotle during our lunch dates, and while mornings were filled with podcasts and financial literacy, the rides home were all carpool karaoke with our summer faves, Chappell Roan and Lizzo.
When I told her the whole “you’re my Blue Ivy” analogy, she very matter-of-factly told me that it didn’t work, because she can’t be Blue Ivy if she is, in fact, Beyoncé. Touché, Scarlett.
By the end of the summer, she earned her vanity, kick-started her Roth IRA, spoken confidently in public, and experienced the rhythms of entrepreneurship in real time. It reminded me of my VP of Sales, Noelle Thomas ,who also started working in her mom’s agency around this age, and I’d say that turned out pretty well! Back-to-school season has arrived, so we are losing our intern to the 7th grade, but it was really one for the books.
This post is a little different from what I usually share. We tend to stick to insurance updates, market trends, and client education, with the more personal stuff sprinkled in. But I’ve noticed people connect just as much (sometimes even more) with the human, behind-the-scenes stories. Honestly, I also wanted to capture it for myself, as a way to look back years from now and remember this special summer with Scarlett.
So no, we didn’t spend the summer under the stage lights in packed stadiums, but we did spend it learning, growing, laughing, and building memories together. And if you ask Scarlett, she wasn’t the backup dancer anyway—she was the star of the show!