Insight Credit Union has officially opened a learning laboratory branch at Lake Minneola High School and recently celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The branch, located inside a classroom building on the high school’s campus, serves as a training facility where students gain realistic, practical experience in the financial services industry.
“This was a long-term vision,” Lake County Schools Superintendent Diane Kornegay said at the ribbon-cutting. “I visited the schools when I first got here [as Superintendent in 2017] and I asked all the principals the same question: ‘What is it that you want for your kids? How can I best support you?’ Lake Minneola Principal Linda Shepherd-Miller said, ‘I want a Finance Academy. I want a bank. I want opportunities for our kids to explore deeper financial literacy skills knowing how important that is for them.’ So we put it on the list of the things we wanted to make happen for kids.”
Today, the Finance Academy at Lake Minneola High School is a reality, and to become a student intern at the school’s credit union branch students must be enrolled in the academy, entering their junior or senior year, and be 16 years of age or older. They receive training from the credit union while at school and off-site in other branches, and they may have the opportunity to obtain part-time employment with Insight outside of school hours if they desire to do so.
“I want to thank Insight for being a part of this,” Kornegay said at the event, which was attended by representatives from the credit union, school district, Education Foundation of Lake County, South Lake Chamber and Lake Minneola High student interns, who will work in the branch. “Thank you for the love and care for our kids, and I want to congratulate these students who are the first to take on this endeavor.”
Insight’s Lake Minneola High School branch is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., allowing students, teachers and school administrators to make withdrawals and deposits and manage their accounts in a variety of ways.
“We are excited to be offering this opportunity to Lake Minneola High School students,” said Insight Credit Union Chief Risk Officer Jesse Dean. “We are excited to be here, to continue offering our services, to expand our reach and to be part of this great program.”
