After immigrating to the United States from India, Divya Singh Kushwah got a job in the US working in human resources, but her goal was always greater stability and a consistent schedule. In January 2021, after hearing about BankWork$ at A New Leaf in Phoenix, Arizona from friends, Divya decided to make a career change and start a new path for her family.
“When I joined BankWork$, I knew nothing about the financial services industry,” said Divya. “I was beginning a totally new chapter of life, and it was overwhelming at first to learn so many different things. One of the reasons I loved the class so much was our instruction staff–I couldn’t have asked for a better instructor to help teach me everything. Whenever you’re trying to begin anything new, having mentors and guidance is so important to success.”
Divya’s instructor was Cheri Foschi, who has served as the BankWork$ instructor at A New Leaf since the class’s inception in 2016. “Cheri has stayed a mentor to me after I graduated. She’s always asking me about my current role and wants to stay in touch. We were virtual for the whole class due to the pandemic, but she adapted so well and built such a strong bond,” said Divya.
Cheri remembers Divya as being an extraordinary student and a great class leader. “Divya is one motivated young lady. She is known for establishing rapport with her clients and is 100% committed to meeting their needs. Divya will give ya one hundred percent!” said Cheri.
“Cheri gave us real-time scenarios to act out and learn from,” said Divya. “The mock interviews especially helped me strengthen my interviewing abilities, so I felt prepared for every question they asked. learned that it’s ok to ask lots of questions, and I’ve grown to be proud of my Indian accent.”
After graduating from BankWork$, Divya, like all BankWork$ and CareerWork$ Medical graduates, attended a hiring fair with local financial institutions and was met with immediate success. “At the hiring fair I got sixteen job offers!” remarked Divya. In May 2021, Divya accepted a position at Bank of America as a Senior Client Executive. One year later, she was promoted to Senior Fraud Analyst, a role she loves.
“In my current role I get to think like a detective,” said Divya. “You have to think so many ways of how fraud could have occurred, and you have to consider lots of different factors to protect the client as well as the financial institution. I do lots of background checks and am constantly learning new skills.”
Bank of America has been a long-term supporter of BankWork$ and has hired hundreds of BankWork$ graduates. CareerWork$ is proud to highlight other BankWork$ alumni from around the country who have gone on to work at Bank of America, including Rozanna Vakhapova, DaVonte Poole, and Jennifer Berg.
Divya encourages anyone considering BankWork$ to experience the program for themselves. “It was a new chapter for me. I didn’t have any idea how a financial institution worked. I had to learn new terminology, new skills, and how to deal with money. BankWork$ made it not only accessible, but enjoyable to learn!” said Divya.
To learn more about BankWork$ and our partnership with A New Leaf, click here. The next class begins on October 17, 2022.
