Forty Under 40: Corey Davidson

In 1999, when she was still a student at the University of Arkansas, Corey Davidson saw a flier advertising a job for a Spanish speaker at the Nationwide Insurance office in Springdale.

Davidson, a Spanish major who had already studied abroad in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, answered the ad, left college behind, and has been in the insurance industry ever since.

She opened her own Allstate office in Rogers in 2002, and as one of the first bilingual owner-agents in the region, was able to found her career serving the influx of Hispanic immigrants who came to Northwest Arkansas for a new life.

“I’ve always been somebody who wanted to help people,” she said. “For me, the key is to be a good advisor for the customer and take care of them and give them what they need.”

During college, the Hampton native contracted a debilitating case of meningitis while abroad in Costa Rica. She spent two weeks in a coma, and when she came out of it, she thought was she was 8 years old when in fact she was 21.

Fortunately, Davidson made a full recovery. But upon arrival back in the United States, she pondered the consequences of the ailment — meningitis can cause cognitive impairment. Thus began her longstanding relationship with Open Avenues, which administers to adults with disabilities.

“It made me realize an organization like that is something I would have needed,” Davidson said.