RALEIGH, N.C. – More than 50 students and several teachers from Daniels Middle School were welcomed to State Employees’ Credit Union’s (SECU’s) Raleigh-Salisbury Street office to take part in a Students@Work initiative hosted by SECU, in conjunction with the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI).
The view from the 12th floor of the downtown building created the ideal backdrop for the student workshop where SECU representatives spoke about future career and job opportunities – all part of the initiative’s efforts aimed at raising the State’s graduation rate by giving middle school students a chance to connect what they are learning in the classroom with occupations that exist in the workplace.
The half-day event also included a brief discussion from Gov. McCrory’s Assistant Chief of Staff John Baldwin, followed by a “Real World” personal finance simulation exercise. A group tour of SECU’s branch and operations areas concluded the event, which was also attended by numerous representatives from NCBCE, NCDPI and Wake County Public School System.
First teaming with NCBCE and NCDPI for Students@Work Week in 2011, SECU has provided workplace experiences and activities at its branches and in public schools in all subsequent years since the program’s inception. Over the years, SECU employees statewide have reached 38,000 students through Students@Work events. While the 2015 tally is not yet complete, early figures indicate that nearly 3,500 students participated in SECU sponsored Students@Work presentations March 2nd through March 6th, the credit union said.