Pub. 7 2017-2018 Issue 1

6 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S A Word From CBA... A Diamond in the Rough Can Be Your Bank’s Best Asset M y new mentee, Ken,* is everything you’d expect of an up-and-comingbanker.He isbright, polished, outgoing and ambitious. His path to banking, however, wasn’t the expected route. After graduating high school, Ken did a short stint at Metro State University, but stopped attending school due to a self-diag- nosed “lack of direction.” So, he worked in construction and other jobs for a few years, meanwhile starting a family with his girlfriend. But those jobs didn’t fulfill him. “I need a career,” he said to himself, and the epiphany oc- curred: banking. His life now is centered on his family and his career. Ken told me he has always taken cues from his mother, who after immigrating to Colorado fromTijuana, Mexico, raised him as a single parent. When Ken was just three, his mother worked several jobs to buy the family’s home in Denver. (Today, it’s paid off.) Hismother remarried andhe adores hismother andhis new father who helped raise him. Ken’smotherwas familiarwithGoodwill IndustriesofDenver and its new BankWork$ program. Ken jumped at the chance to participate in the 8-week intensive intro-to-banking course that trains young adults for lasting careers in the financial services industry. The programwas started in2006 inLosAngeles byThe Sheri andLesBillerFamilyFoundation(startedbya formerWellsFargo executive) and currently runs in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Fran- cisco, Phoenix, Portland, OR, Houston, Denver and Chicago. As part of a five-year, $4-million national expansion in partnership with Bank of America, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo, the program is scheduled to launch in 12 to 15major cities by 2019. That’s how I met Ken; during a recent graduation ceremony for the third class of the program. CBA co-sponsors the program here with Goodwill, and has endorsed the program since day one. Ken came away from his BankWork$ cohort with four job offers. He recently completed his in-bank training at his bank of choice and has started working full time. He askedme, as part of his ongoing education, if I’d mentor him. I readily agreed, though I really believe I’m simply affirming the direction he’s already taking. It’s heart-warming to do this and it’s hard to imagine that Ken was once a shy and quiet young man, heldbackby self-doubt stemmingpartially fromachildhood stutter. Today, he’s theverymodel of ambition, poiseandpotential. I am excited to see what Ken will do next. He’s bound for great things. While Ken’s story isn’t unique, I amso glad to be able to share some of it, as anexample of why programs likeBankWork$are so important. Some of our best workers don’t come from the college graduate rank-and-file; these diamonds in the rough can often outshine the shiniest degree. Havingrecentlygraduatedits thirdclass,Denver’sBankWork$ programboastsanear90percent success rate,meaningalmost90 percent of program participants graduate and become gainfully employed in a bank. If your bank doesn’t participate in the program, I encourage you to learn more and get involved. To do so, contact Kelly Stan- gel-Martin at 303-854-7683 or by e-mail at kstangel-martin@ goodwilldenver.org . *Name has been changed to protect his identity.  Don Childears President and CEO Colorado Bankers Association