58 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • AUGUST 1, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Forest Hills students participate in youth leadership training
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Two Forest Hills students have returned
home from the 2019 Student Leaders
Summit in Washington, D.C., where they
had the opportunity to connect with
nearly 300 peers from around the country
and meet with members of Congress
as part of the Bank of America Student
Leaders program.
Graduating high school seniors Stacey
Xue and Nicole Rozelman, both 18, are
among a group of fi ve local New York City
students selected to participate in the program
to build their workforce and leadership
skills through paid summer internships
at local nonprofi t organizations.
During the summit, the students cultivated
advocacy and leadership skills, in addition
to discussing civil rights, the value
of cross-sector partnerships, and participating
in a service learning project at the
American Red Cross.
Since its inception 15 years ago, the
Bank of America Student Leaders program
has recognized 80 local New York
City Student Leaders, helping them chart
a path for success through work experience
and workforce development opportunities.
“Bank of America Student Leaders is
truly a unique program,” said Connie
Verducci, market executive for Bank of
America in New York City. “Combining
a paid internship with skills-building and
community service is a game-changer for
the participating students. Th e program
is just one of the ways we invest in connecting
individuals to the training and
experience necessary to help fuel social
progress.”
Th rough their involvement in the program,
nearly 3,500 young people from
across the country have gained skills and
workforce experience since 2004. Th e
bank is supporting a total of 145 students
in New York City this summer as part of
the company’s broader commitment to
youth workforce development.
Xue, a recent graduate of Stuyvesant
High School and a University of Notre
Dame rising freshman, is currently
interning at the DREAM Charter School,
a nonprofi t organization in East Harlem
that addresses greater needs in education,
such as high school graduation rates
and low literacy, through aft er-school and
summer enrichment.
For Xue, the program has been extremely
rewarding and transformative, she said.
“From my internship at DREAM where
I’m a part of a team who helps disadvantaged
children achieve long-term success,
to the Leadership Summit in D.C. where
I met other Student Leaders from across
the nation and networked with leaders in
business and government, this summer
has helped prepare me for college, introduced
me to better money habits and has
given me the leadership skills and tools
to make an impact in the community,”
Xue said.
Xue’s experience has taught her the
importance of enriching the minds of
the future generation and creative, eff ective
methods that can be used to bring
improvements to the education system.
Rozelman, a recent graduate of Hunter
College High School who is heading to
Harvard University in the fall, wanted to
remain active in her community lending a
helping hand. She is currently interning at
the YMCA of Greater New York.
“I hoped to learn as much as possible,
both by spearheading my own initiatives
based on my time as an intern and
by sitting in on team planning and strategy
meetings,” Rozelman said. “I have
gotten to enhance my professional skills
through personal branding and recruiting
workshops run by Bank of America,
and blended this training both with my
practical work experience and the broader
perspective on serving, inspiring, and
changing that I developed in D.C.”
Th is summer, Bank of America is
investing more than $4 million to support
nearly 3,000 summer jobs for teens
across the country through various initiatives,
with a particular focus on young
people from low-income families.
Together, Bank of America, Goldman
Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley
and Wells Fargo have partnered to launch
FinTech Focus, a new immersive program
administered by Upperline Code, which
is dedicated to empowering students from
diverse and underserved backgrounds to
obtain college degrees in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics
(STEM). Since 2017, Bank of America
has worked in collaboration with Girls
Who Code to support a summer immersion
computer science initiative for high
school-aged girls, with 20 New York City
students currently enrolled in the program.
Additionally, in partnership with the
New York City Department of Education,
Bank of America funds the Career and
Technical Education Summer Scholars
program, which currently off ers handson
summer learning opportunities to 100
New York City high school juniors and
seniors.
And through the Financial Center
Internship Program, Bank of America
off ers low-income young adults opportunities
to develop key professional skills
and prepares them for a future in a fi nancial
center environment. Th e program
presently features 20 local New York City
students.
Lastly, Bank of America also provides
information and tools to help young
adults learn about careers and personal
fi nance through Better Money Habits®,
its fi nancial wellness and education platform.
health
Courtesy of Bank of America
Bank of America Student Leaders. (From l.) Nicole Rozelman, a Forest Hills resident and recent graduate of Hunter College High School and Stacey Xue
(second from right) a Forest Hills resident and recent graduate of Stuyvesant High School.
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