Bank Interns Invest In Their Future

A year ago, Elizabeth Hettinger was tongue-tied around strangers.

Now the North Central High School junior is a friendly, professional presence behind the busy customer service desk in the downtown branch of Seafirst Bank.

The difference, Hettinger says, is hope.

That’s just one of the things she has gained through her participation in the Seafirst Bank Youth Jobs Program. Hettinger is one of 12 Spokane high school students who are interns in the program.

The program was designed by Seafirst executives in 1992 following the Los Angeles riots. The goal was to give low-income youths a hand toward solid futures by giving them part-time jobs and $10,000 college scholarships.

A tough screening process assures that only hard-working students get into the program. Once in, advisers and supervisors track students’ grades.

Seafirst provides tutors to students who are struggling in school.

Since its inception, the Seafirst program has earned national recognition and awards. In addition to the 12 students in Spokane, there are another 70 participants in Washington state.

Diane Spivey, who supervises the interns enrolled in the program, said the bank trains interns to do increasingly complex work. They work part time during the school year and full time during the summer.

Tanesha Ross, like Hettinger a North Central junior, says being a Seafirst intern has meant sacrifices in her social life and her extracurricular activities. But she has been more than willing to make those sacrifices as an investment in her future.

“I’m tired a lot,” she said. “When I get home, I jump into my homework. Weekends are the only time I have to myself.”

Ross said one of the most important things Seafirst has done for her is to give her an adviser. Every intern is paired with an adviser from the Seafirst staff.

Judy Cunningham, merchant and business financial manager, is Ross’ adviser.

“I’m there to listen to anything Tanesha is going through in her job or even her personal life,” Cunningham said. “I advise her about what she needs to do to reach her career goals.”

Pang Xiong, a North Central student who works at Seafirst’s Hillyard branch, still can’t believe the options Seafirst has laid open to her.

She is the first person in her family, who emigrated from Thailand, to go through high school, let alone have hopes of going to college.

Other North Side students in the Seafirst program are: Marissa Anderson of North Central; James Frye, Chris Goldsmith, Joe Le and Janel Olson, all of Rogers; and Garen Parham of North Central.

Perhaps none of the program’s participants has benefited more than Hettinger. In addition to attending school and working at the bank, she is raising her 3-year-old and 15-month-old sons alone.

Her Seafirst paycheck has enabled Hettinger to cut the amount of welfare she receives. She also has been able to move her small family from a one-bedroom apartment in a tough part of town to a nicer place.

She’s able to lean on Seafirst for help all the way through college and now even envisions a career in banking.

“Elizabeth has come a long way,” Spivey said. “And she will go a long way.”