Pub. 16 2019 Issue 3

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 N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S direction, especially for our rural markets. Once solid footing is in place with a strong network of committed banks, bank leaders and devoted mentors, NMSU would seem to be a very viable and meaningful partner to expand the program. 5. What are the advantages to the banks that have participated in the program? Internships are a great way to experience firsthand a candidate’s work ethic, competencies, and see if there is a good fit with the corporate culture. One of the obvious advantages for participating banks has been the opportunity to add a promising new em- ployee to the team. An advantage worth mentioning that perhaps isn’t so obvious is the internal collaboration and experience for the employees who are being shadowed. A few comments to expand upon this: • There have been some instances where the intern dis - cusses shadowing experiences with other employees, sometimes sharing valuable information within our teams. If you think about it, conversations around what we do on a day-to-day basis with colleagues in separate roles are probably very limited. But there could be so much value in those conversations. • There have been a few comments where the employee who is being shadowed may get asked questions about why they do certain things the way they do it. The question (or the answer) may encourage ways of becom - ing more efficient in their processes. A mentor recently said, “If something has been working well, break it to see if you can make it even better.” Being shadowed can be a very valuable tool to avoid complacency and hold ourselves accountable for intentionally and regularly evaluating our approach. 6. It would seem that the program makes Ander- son School attendees much more aware of what “banking” is. And perhaps consider banking as a career? Absolutely! Some of my favorite moments throughout the internship program are when you get the raised-eyebrow comment, “I had no idea this happened within a bank!” These comments are shared with peers and colleagues at Ander- son, which helps to generate discussion. When we held our ‘information session’ at Anderson to recruit for year two of the program with potential candidates, many students were familiar with the program after hearing about it from our 1st-year participants and academic advisers. We are reaching more than just our interns. 7. It would also seem that the programmay have as a byproduct-keeping some of our best and brightest in New Mexico – as we had a large seg- ment of our university grads seek employment out of state. Thoughts? When putting this program together, some of the statistics that were discussed included the negative or near stagnant population growth that our State had been experiencing. Of those leaving the State, the majority demographic, based upon education level, was college graduates. We do have jobs here in New Mexico for college graduates; that message just isn’t always communicated to our college students as well as it could be. Banking can provide amazing long-term career opportuni - ties, with an incredible combination of career paths. By educat - ing our interns, our intern candidates, and our higher education partners about the career potential that banking offers, it is likely that our students will be encouraged to explore an addi - tional industry for career options here in New Mexico. Finally, we asked one of this year’s interns to give us his thoughts concerning his experience. Katrik Kumar, who is now employed by U.S. Bank as a result of our program, said: The NMBA internship was a wonderful opportunity. It was a very interesting experience where I was able to learn about the world of banking and gain new insight. I learned about the many areas in the bank and the different services that they offer. Originally, I only thought of the teller line when it came to banks. During my internship at U.S. Bank, I learned about so many different areas includ - ing business banking, credit spreading, retail, wealth and investment services, and operations. I visited several U.S. Bank branches, and job shadowed 10 people working in various areas of the bank. In addition to our bank, I was able to meet with and learn from professionals from three other local banks. From these experiences, I learned about the many careers that are available through banking and get an insight into these careers from experienced bank- ers. All in all, the internship was a huge learning experi - ence and an incredible opportunity. BankPAC Trade associations such as the NMBA can and have used several tools to affect political change, including creating grassroots efforts of volunteers, establishing a government n EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE continued from page 5 When putting this program together, some of the statistics that were discussed included the negative or near stagnant population growth that our State had been experiencing. Of those leaving the State, the majority demographic, based upon education level, was college graduates.