Early College Rising Senior Recognized For Summer Internship

Press release from Savannah-Chatham County Public School System:

7/29/2021

In celebration of National Intern Day, Goodwill Southeast Georgia proudly celebrated the incredible achievements of their summer interns. Corey Straughter, Jr., rising senior at Savannah Early College High School, completed his summer internship through the Bank of America Student Leaders® program.

Without access to career skills-building opportunities like the Student Leaders program, many young people may be left behind from a fast-changing job market, leading to higher rates of youth unemployment. The Student Leaders program, which started in 2004, recognizes 300 community-focused juniors and seniors from across the U.S. annually.

The Savannah-based Student Leaders have engaged in an eight-week paid internship and participated in programming that includes a collaborative, mentor-focused project working closely with Goodwill Southeast Georgia to research adult learning platforms that can be implemented virtually and in-person to deliver meaningful curriculum to clients, developed a survey campaign to identify employment trends for Millennial and Gen Z markets and engaged with Opportunity Center participants to capture and create a virtual library of success stories.

In addition, they have participated virtually in sessions on the vital role nonprofits play in advancing community health and the importance of public-private partnerships to drive social change while building financial acumen.

As part of this summer's program, Student Leaders took part in a virtual Summit in partnership with the Close Up Foundation to participate in Stanford University's Young Democracy at Home.

“As for a career goal, I really liked the flexibility of the internship, the responsibility and the independence, so I will definitely look for that in a future career," shared Anna Wylly, Bank of America Student Leader.

“Bank of America remains committed to supporting young adults by connecting them to jobs, community engagement opportunities and leadership development," said Patrick O'Neil, President, Bank of America Savannah. “We recognize young adults are the future of our community, which is why programs like Student Leaders are one way we can provide paid opportunities for students to gain job experience while developing a diverse pipeline of talent as they enter the local workforce."

This press release was produced by Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. The views expressed here are the author’s own.