By Julie Waechter, Special to Adams State
The Adams State University new Team Internship Program connects students with local businesses to address a particular issue. This semester, 21 Adams State students are working with First Southwest Bank to expand its Credit Builder Product to underserved rural areas in Colorado.
The Team Internship is a high-impact practice developed through “The Cornerstone to Capstone (C2C) Grant: Building the Adams Experience,” funded by the U.S. Department of Education Title V grants for Hispanic-Serving Institutions. The grant aims to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the academic attainment of, Hispanic and low-income students.
“The team internship helps prepare students for careers through collaborating and solving real, local workplace challenges,” explained Anna Torello, project director of the C2C grant in the Adams State Office of Title V Initiatives. The five-year grant totals $2,965,412. Student interns earn $15 an hour for 33 hours.
“Guided by a team of faculty coaches, the interns use the ‘Design Thinking’ methodology to generate and propose innovative solutions to the identified business challenge,” Torello added. Design Thinking is defined as “a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems, and create innovative solutions.”
This semester’s faculty coaches include Katelyn Smith, athletic director; Chayan Lahiri, Ph.D., assistant professor of geosciences; and Stephen Akinlabi, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
The intern team is working with First Southwest Bank representatives Kristy Esquibel, executive vice president and chief credit officer, and Jaime Maestas, consumer lending. They explained the bank’s mission as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and their focus on low to moderate-income communities. The bank has six locations in southwest Colorado.
“Our goal is to assure inclusive and equitable capital in rural Colorado to support and enrich our communities,” Esquibel said. Therefore, the intern team’s challenge is to expand usage of the bank’s Credit Builder Product, which can improve financial literacy and future access to capital. Participants in the program learn how to establish or improve their credit score and create savings.
Last semester, 18 students worked with the City of Alamosa to devise ways to attract more college students to the downtown area. Elizabeth Sumner, director of destination development for Visit Alamosa, said, “I was so impressed with the interns in this program. They brought fresh perspectives, asked challenging questions, and were incredibly engaged. The collaborative energy was palpable and made for a truly meaningful project.”
Adams State senior business administration major Bryan Sanchez said, “This internship taught me how to work with others to find a solution. This helped me understand social organization and how things work in my current career.”
