2022 Bank of America student leaders named

EDUCATION: Internships Connect Teens to Career-Building Opportunities

Diana Garcia isn’t sure if she wants to look toward a career in a medical profession as a doctor or a nurse, or if she wants to jump into the business world. Whatever direction she chooses, the incoming senior at San Diego High School already has a head start on working with others, which is at the heart of what she wants for her future.

“I have a passion for helping people,” said Garcia, 17, who hopes to attend San Diego State University after graduating. “I want to go into the medical field or the business field because I love being around people.”

Garcia, who is involved in San Diego High’s Academy of Finance and Entrepreneurship, is trilingual

– fluent in Spanish, German and English – and is active as a library volunteer, tutor and student aid helper. She also collects donations for those affected by homelessness.

Garcia recently completed a paid internship through a program sponsored by Bank of America at Just in Time for Foster Youth.

JIT for Foster Youth is a local nonprofit that started in 2002 and focuses on reaching out to kids who have been in foster families and need some extra support. JIT engages with the community to help transition-age foster youth achieve self-sufficiency and well-being.

Garcia said working with JIT included helping out the volunteer services team at a distribution center where participants in the program are able to gather donated items like furniture that they may need at home.

Student Leader Program

She said one of the highlights of the internship program was an off-site event held in August at Martin Luther King Park in the Skyline area. At the event, foster youths and their families were able to connect and enjoy activities that included rock painting, tie-dying clothes, playing games and entering raffles for prizes.

Garcia is one of three high school students and another recent graduate from high school who were selected to be part of Bank of America’s Student Leaders program. Through Student Leaders, the four were provided with an eight-week paid summer internship that gave them first-hand experience in serving the community.

The teenagers – Garcia, Nathalie Cedillo (Escondido High), David Zheng (Sweetwater High in National City) and Itsarely Palma Castillo (Fallbrook High graduate now attending Cal State San Marcos) -- worked with Just in Time for Foster Youth as part of a collaborative, mentor-focused project, and earned $17 an hour.

They also received a Chromebook as part of the program and participated in a virtual Leadership Summit led by the Washington, D.C.-based Close Up Foundation. They had opportunities to engage with members of U.S. Congress, heard from civil rights and human rights leaders, and were included in the Stanford University Young Democracy at Home program, which encourages conversation about current issues facing young people today.

Declining Teen Workforce

According to local Bank of America officials, only about one in three teens in San Diego are a part of the workforce. They say that number has been steadily declining since 2000.

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, says Rick Bregman, president of Bank of America San Diego.

“Bank of America is steadfast in our commitment to supporting teens and young adults by connecting them to jobs, community engagement opportunities and leadership development,” Bregman said. “These students are the future of San Diego, which is why programs like Student Leaders are one way we can provide paid opportunities for them to gain positive employment experience while developing a diverse pipeline of talent as they enter our local workforce.”

Since 2004, Student Leaders has been part of Bank of America’s ongoing commitment to youth employment and economic mobility. The company says the program is one way it helps prepare a diverse pipeline of community-minded young students to be successful in the workforce through leadership training and work experience.

The Student Leaders program annually connects more than 300 community-minded high school juniors and seniors from nearly 100 communities to employment, skills development and service.

Bank of America leaders say that the students that are chosen to be part of the Student Leaders program come from diverse backgrounds but are united by their drive and commitment. Through paid internships with local nonprofits and participation in a national leadership summit, they gain practical work and life experience. ■