This past summer, Michael Lusk (‘23) participated in Bank of America’s Student Leaders Program, the bank’s eight-week flagship program for high school students across the country. Lusk, as one of 300 student leaders from over 100 communities across the country, embodied the mission of Bank of America (BofA) to diversify the workplace, support community-minded leaders, and promote economic mobility.

Working with the Richmond corporate headquarters branch, Lusk and a team of three other Student Leaders worked as consultants for the YMCA of Greater Richmond, a strong community non-profit. Through the program, he describes being immersed in all parts of the organization, including the corporate aspect at their headquarters in Richmond and the commercial aspect as a provider of gyms, a childcare provider for summer camps and sports programs, and a non-profit. He describes one of his most valuable lessons from this experience as “the importance of networking and communicating with people.” Working with three other student leaders and a group of mentors from both BofA and the YMCA, Lusk describes honing his people skills. At the end of the program, the Student Leaders made a presentation to the BofA leadership team, recapping their eight-week program. BofA’s Community Relations Manager Keith Sanders describes the way they presented as “the best way I've ever seen.” The Student Leaders gave “a week by week rundown of how they experienced the internship,” and Sanders’ most rewarding part of the experience was “being able to witness the growth in the Student Leaders from start to finish.” 

For Lusk, this experience gave him greater career insight, especially regarding “what it's like to work in a corporate environment, especially with a team and other co-workers.” Community was central to Lusk’s experience, as he was consistently working with the BofA team, the YMCA leadership, and fellow Student Leaders across the country.

The capstone of the experience was a leadership summit held in Washington, DC. For a week, all 300 Student Leaders from across the country came together and shared their experiences with one another. As part of the week-long activities, Lusk describes participating in analyzing a case study, where teams pretended they were “somebody working off of a benefits program,” formulating financial plans for their hypothetical children. For Lusk, the experience was “really educational because we learned what it’s like to live on a low income.” While in DC, they volunteered for the Red Cross, met up with Red Cross leaders at their headquarters in DC, got a personal tour of the National Museum of African American History, and toured the Holocaust Museum. Most notably, the Student Leaders got the opportunity to head to Capitol Hill and talk to some local representatives from Virginia, including Representative Bobby Scott, Senator Tim Kaine, and representatives of Senator Mark Warner. With Rep. Bobby Scott, they conversed about the importance of community outreach programs to help alleviate the problems in a child’s educational environment, especially in low-income and underprivileged areas. As a culminating event of the program, the Summit enabled like-minded student leaders across the country to build strong relationships and bolster their understanding of what it means to be a community leader.

The Bank of America Student Leaders Program is a “unique way of getting people to understand what the bank is really about,” said Sanders. “Highlighting these stellar, star-students is something that the bank likes to do every year.” Applications for the 2024 Student Leaders cohort are open and close in mid-January. The program showcases the importance of community-focused leaders who embody dedication and commitment to bettering the world around them.