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."

Bank of America has been a partner of Goodwill Southeast Georgia since 2017, providing support to elevate the mission of Goodwill to assist individuals overcoming disabilities and barriers to become employed.  In 2020, we provided job training and job-placement services to 2,266 people, created opportunities for 91 professional credentials to be earned and helped 521 individuals find jobs at companies in southeast Georgia.