Leah Bright, a 2021 graduate of the BankWork$ program with our training partner Philadelphia OIC, was a featured speaker at the recent Pennsylvania Bankers Association 2021 Young Professionals Conference, where she shared her career journey to a role with our employer partner Citizens Bank.  

Earlier this year, Leah was seeking a new career. Her mother first told her about BankWork$; she had seen a flyer advertising the program with Philadelphia OIC at her workplace.  

“I knew I had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Leah recalled. 

She applied, was accepted, and began the program in a hybrid model that was adopted during the pandemic, with some classes in person and others taught live via Zoom sessions. 

For Leah, the free, comprehensive, eight-week program offered the communications and workplace skills she needed to launch a new career, along with the industry-specific skills and knowledge. 

“Because of BankWork$, I could really understand and learn the ins and outs of the financial services industry.” 

In her remarks, Leah also thanked Philadelphia OIC BankWork$ Instructor Shantelle Faison for her support and encouragement before and after the program. Calling Shantelle her mentor, Leah said she “added fuel to the flame, which I needed at the time.” 

The day of her graduation in Spring 2021, Leah and her fellow graduates participated in a key feature of BankWork$: one-on-one interviews with multiple employer partners in the region. 

A week later, Leah received an offer from Citizens Bank. 

Today, as Leah grows in her new career, her goal is to “run my own branch and impact the lives of emerging leaders.” 

The Pennsylvania Bankers Association has been a strong supporter of the BankWork$ program since 2017, a key partner in expanding the program to Pittsburgh and an advocate for our programs with Pennsylvania banks. Their support of BankWork$ graduates like Leah is a testament to our shared commitment to opening more doors to meaningful careers in the financial services industry. 

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