Independent Banker - June 2022 - 71

Next: A surprise business partnership garners success 
new branch location located near the
district's three high schools that could
also house a classroom. In addition to
classroom learning, students would
have access to hands-on learning
through internships at the branch.
" We were in from the very beginning,
because I just loved the concept of
exposing these kids to the financial
system, " says Esry.
Creating a classroom
The new Blue Ridge Bank branch
opened on the city's historic
Independence Square in May
2019 and welcomed its first class
of students that fall. The program
teaches banking and financial literacy
topics, including why checks need
to be endorsed and how to apply for
a loan. Part of what the community
bank provides is that " real world "
education that students can't get from
a textbook.
Blue Ridge Bank department
leaders and staff talk to students
about what it is they do and how
the various pieces of the puzzle fit
together, adds Esry.
" The program wouldn't be the
program it is without the bank
and the school being involved as
equal partners, " says Pamela Gill,
a business education teacher with
the ISD. As part of the Missouri
Education Department business
finance curriculum, the school
partners with the bank to incorporate
an internship component. Students
taking the business finance class
typically spend six hours per week
in the classroom and four hours per
week interning at the bank.
The internship provides active
learning, allowing students to make
connections, notes Gill. For example,
students learn how to cash a check
for a customer in the bank, while in
the classroom they learn about what
happens to a check when it leaves the
" The program wouldn't be the program it is
without the bank and the school being involved
as equal partners. ... [Blue Ridge Bank] answers
the 'what' and we answer the 'why.' "
-PAMELA GILL, INDEPENDENCE SCHOOL DISTRICT
bank. " So, the bank answers the 'what'
and we answer the 'why,' " she says.
Another goal of the program is
to teach students how to work in a
professional setting. As community
bank employees, every student intern
goes through the standard hiring
process, including an application
and interview. There are discussions
around dress codes and punctuality.
Students also get to work with
customers, notes Esry. " As all
community bankers know, you don't
always know what the customer is
going to say, " he says. " So, you have
to be prepared and know what you're
doing, and I think we've impressed
that on them and shown them it
is something they can do and be
good at. "
Introduction to community
banking
The ISD Business Pathway program
is an opportunity to show students
what community banking is all about,
to the extent that some consider a
career in the industry. To date, the
bank has hired a few students out
of the program and expects to hire
more. One of those students is Cailyn
Cordell, hired as a teller after she
graduated in the spring of 2021. She
now works part-time while attending
Metropolitan Community College in
Kansas City, Mo.
One of the things Cordell valued
about Blue Ridge Bank's program
was the ability to apply what she
read about and discussed in class.
" When we transitioned to computers
and started doing transactions and
talking with customers, it made a
lot more sense and it was easier to
understand, " she says. " People also
were really patient and willing to
teach you, because they knew you
were trying to learn. "
Community involvement is par
for the course for Blue Ridge Bank.
" It's a really nice fit to be working
with the school district to provide
this type of financial education and
experience, " says Esry. The bank also
has worked with students in other
ISD Academy programs. Broadcast
students filmed a commercial about
the bank, and industrial arts students
built a coffee bar and counters that
have been incorporated into one
branch location.
" I think community banks are
challenged by the structure of our
industry, " says Esry, " and this
program is a wonderful opportunity
to get outside the normal box
to deliver our services, our
philosophies and make a difference in
the community. " 
Beth Mattson-Teig is a writer
in Minnesota.
independentbanker.org Q 71
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - June 2022

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