Bank of America Provides Summer Internships for Greater Washington Teens

6/30/16

Student Leaders® program connects more than 200 community-minded young people with nonprofit internships and leadership development

Bank of America today announced four high school students from the Greater Washington community have been selected as Student Leaders (#BofAStudentLeaders). The program offers young people, who are engaged community citizens, an opportunity to build their workforce and leadership skills through a paid summer internship at a local nonprofit organization and participation in a Student Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. The four local students will be interning at the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington.

Early employment opportunities are a critical stepping stone for young people entering the working world. When young people can’t access early employment opportunities that build their skills, they are at risk of being left behind and not finding a meaningful job in today’s competitive workforce. With local youth unemployment rates at 12.1 percent, Student Leaders connects young people to summer employment that supports their long-term financial success, and in turn helps the economic progress of the Greater Washington area.

“Early employment opportunities help teens build the skills they need to establish a career and get on a path toward financial stability,” said Jeff Wood, Greater Washington market president, Bank of America. “Helping youth access resources and skills that prepare them for future success is an important part of our work to address the underlying issues related to economic mobility as we work to create a thriving economy in this area.”

The four Greater Washington Student Leaders are:

  • Christopher Cao, a Fairfax resident and rising senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology;
  • Nina Clemente, a Washington resident and recent graduate of Woodrow Wilson Senior High School;
  • Max Finkelpearl, a Washington resident and recent graduate of Woodrow Wilson Senior High School;
  • Foday Mansaray, a Washington resident and recent graduate of Bell Multicultural High-School.


These four young people will join more than 200 other Student Leaders from around the country in Washington D.C. on July 10-15 for a Student Leadership Summit. As part of this week-long convening, students will discuss how to build a more diverse and inclusive society, gain a better understanding of how cross-sector collaboration creates community impact, and become part of a network of community leaders that will support their citizenship and engagement. The students are joining a network of more than 65 student alumni from Greater Washington and an alumni cohort of more than 2,200 Student Leaders across the country.

Student Leaders is just one way Bank of America is supporting summer employment opportunities for Greater Washington teens. The bank is also partnering with Mayor Muriel Bowser to fund paid summer internships for local teens through the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington. This program connects more than 50 at-risk teens in Greater Washington with paid summer employment. In addition to this partnership, Bank of America has also once again teamed up with Urban Alliance to offer 26 teens positions at local Bank of America banking centers.

Bank of America

At Bank of America, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is critical to fulfilling our core purpose of making people’s financial lives better. A commitment to growing our business responsibly is embedded in every aspect of our company, from our policies and practices to our services, products, governance and employee benefits. An important part of that commitment is forming strong partnerships across sectors, including nonprofit organizations serving community needs, bringing our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. We’re proud of our employees’ volunteer efforts, support of diversity and inclusion, and environmental and social responsibility. Across our company, we’re focused on simplifying banking and investing, advancing better money habits and making an impact in communities around the world. Learn more atwww.bankofamerica.com/aboutand follow us on Twitter at @BofA_News.