Lowcountry students gain work experience as 2024 Bank of America Student Leaders

Bank of America selected two Charleston County high school students as Student Leaders® (#BofAStudentLeaders), an eight-week paid summer internship connecting students to employment, skills development and service. These community-minded students will gain practical work and leadership experience and receive financial education coaching from Bank of America’s Better Money Habits curriculum, while working with local nonprofits and earning competitive wages.

The class of 2024 Charleston Bank of America Student Leaders are:

• Michael Jones – Michael is a rising senior at Early College High school. He volunteers with local nonprofits like WAGS Animal Shelter. Michael hopes to continue to have a beneficial impact on his community through the Student Leaders program and his internship with Charleston Promise Neighborhood.
• Rayshell Lessington – Rayshell is a graduating senior from James Island Charter High School. She draws inspiration and leadership qualities from her mother and is using those skills to positively impact her community and inspire others through her work at IAAM as part of the Student Leaders program.

“Preparing a diverse pipeline of community-minded young students to be successful in the workforce is critical to the Lowcountry’s long-term economic growth” said Mark Munn, president, Bank of America Charleston-Hilton Head. “The exceptional teens selected for the Student Leaders program will not only gain practical work and life experience, but the community in return gains help from local nonprofits and a diverse pipeline of talent as these young adults enter the local workforce.”

Charleston Promise Neighborhood is providing Michael an opportunity to shadow leaders focused on three program pillars and wrap-around services – health & wellness, community & family engagement, and education. He had the hands-on opportunity to see how CPN is a conduit in the neighborhood and community it serves and develop his leadership skills through direct engagement.

“Michael brought a proactive effort to his internship and gained valuable leadership experience. He looked at all angles of how CPN can enhance its narrative and ultimately, further its impact on the Charleston community,” said Charleston Promise Neighborhood CEO Sherrie Snipes-Williams. “Michael has seized every opportunity to deliver CPN’s mission through both digital engagement and direct interactions in the community where he got a firsthand understanding of the rhythm of how CPN works with local service providers and community partners like Bank of America.”

International African American Museum is hosting Rayshell as its Public History Intern, where she supports the development of educational content to help younger audiences navigate, engage with, and understand exhibitions. Her contributions help the Museum engage new audiences, ensuring that youth and families can connect with and benefit from the stories we tell.

“Rayshell has truly been an asset to IAAM this summer,” said Malika N. Pryor, IAAM’s Chief Learning & Engagement Officer. “Her creativity and innovative thinking in developing educational content, family and children’s guides significantly enhances our ability to connect with younger audiences. We are grateful for her commitment to IAAM’s mission to honor untold African American stories and in doing so inspire the next generation to be story-keepers.”

The students also traveled to Washington, D.C. for a week-long, all expenses paid, national leadership summit to learn how nonprofits, governments and businesses collaborate to meet local needs.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary year, the Student Leaders program recognizes 300 community-focused juniors and seniors from across the U.S. annually. The program expanded to Charleston five years ago and has included 10 local students for summer internships since 2019. Beginning in 2004, Student Leaders has engaged more than 4,500 students nationally and invested $42 million in more than 500 local nonprofits as a critical part of the bank’s long-standing effort to build pathways to economic mobility across nearly 100 markets.

In addition to Student Leaders, Bank of America is partnering with other Lowcountry academic institutions to support pathways to sustainable careers. The bank is collaborating with the Lead Charleston Foundation to fund 50 high school internships through SC CHEER YES and Berkeley Future Ready. Also this year, Bank of America partnered with Trident Technical College funding to support the Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship program.