Bank of America recently announced two Augusta high school seniors were selected 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, all while earning competitive wages.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary year, the Student Leaders program recognizes 300 community-focused juniors and seniors from across the U.S. annually. Since 2004, Student Leaders has engaged more than 4,500 students 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.

“Preparing a diverse pipeline of community-minded young students to be successful in the workforce is critical to market’s long-term economic growth” said Ora Parish, president, Bank of America Augusta-Aiken. “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.”

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

• Jayda Bell – a 2024 graduate and salutatorian of A.R. Johnson Magnet School. After graduation, Jayda plans to attend Emory University to pursue a degree in sociology. Currently, Jayda serves as the assistant executive director of the Leadership Genesis Project, a non-profit focused on empowering youth. She was also the vice president of the National Honor Society, a Key Club class representative, and the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Rosa T. Beard Debutante Club. Jayda’s achievements and aspirations have set her on a path for a successful future, with her dedication to making an impact through her work with nonprofits and her goal of becoming a CEO or executive one day.

• Key’Nesha Powell – a 2024 honor graduate of Butler High School plans to attend Claflin University. Key’Nesha was a member of the BETA Club and president of her Future Business Leaders of America Chapter. Additionally, she graduated from the Youth Leadership Class of 2023 and served as the liaison between her school and both the Superintendent’s Advisory Council and the Principal’s Advisory Council. Key’Nesha has a strong commitment to community and is interested in social justice and mental health. She looks forward to working with Golden Harvest Food Bank to understand advocacy from an organizational perspective.

The Augusta-based Student Leaders are participating in programming that includes a collaborative, mentor-focused project with Golden Harvest while also learning about how a food bank operates. Over the course of the summer, they will rotate between departments at the food bank, learning about community impact, marketing, human resources, fundraising, packing and sorting food, agency partnerships, Urban Farm and Master’s Table Soup Kitchen.

Along with Student Leaders, Bank of America is connecting more than 12 teens and young adults to paid jobs and internships with the Augusta Metro Chamber’s Students2Work Program, with First Tee of Augusta, CSRA Alliance for Ft. Eisenhower, Child Enrichment, Destination Augusta, American Heart Association, The Clubhou.se, the Office of Mayor Garnett Johnson, and the Jessye Norman School for the Arts through its Summer Youth Employment Program.

Later this summer, the Student Leaders will travel 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.