Four Students Complete CorePlus Credit Union Summer Internship Program

NORWICH, Conn. — Four interns successfully completed the CorePlus Credit Union Summer Internship Program on Friday, August 9th. The CPCU Summer Internship Program provides participants with valuable real world work experience in a financial institution. This year, CorePlus hosted Shelbie Desir and Iris Tang from Norwich Free Academy and Mercy Reynoso Germosen and Claudy Baron from New London High School.

Beginning on June 28th, CorePlus summer interns completed daily duties ranging from teller transactions to assisting in various consumer lending departments. They continuously developed skills including but not limited to customer service, cash handling, personal finance, sales, time management, organization, conflict resolution, basic lending, accounting, and quality control.

CorePlus has hosted students from two of the area’s largest high schools for 18 years. The program began in 2006 when the Director of Diversity at NFA and the CorePlus president at the time had a casual conversation about the lack of diversity in Norwich area financial institutions. They decided on the spot that an internship program could be the way to change that.

Since then, over 90 high school students have successfully completed the program. Four current CorePlus employees, including its CFO and one Branch Officer, are graduates of the internship program.

CorePlus staff strive to mimic their traditional new hire process as closely as possible for the program. Students are selected for the internship based upon their interview skills, complete a new hire orientation, and are reviewed using an abbreviated version of our performance appraisal. The interns are placed in branches and departments based on their interviews and areas of interest, and supervisors are encouraged to give them the same duties given to regular employees.

Mercy Reynoso Germosen stated, “My summer internship at CorePlus Credit Union was a great experience full of laughter, knowledge, and a welcoming environment from the very beginning — during our training with Kristen — to the end at the Groton branch with Briana, Brenda, and Melissa. As a recent high school graduate, I would recommend going for this internship — especially if you’re going into the finance field; if given the chance to, I would definitely do this internship again.”

Claudy Baron expressed a similar sentiment, stating, “I’m truly grateful that I was able to have the opportunity to participate in this program. This internship has refined several of my skills, and I feel it has made me better prepared for my future. I was able to work on my customer service and communication skills, my knowledge on finance has been broadened, and I had a great experience with my team, the members, and even the work I did.”

All CorePlus Summer Internship applicants must be at least 16 years old, have strong customer service skills, possess the ability to work with various technical platforms, and work well on teams and independently. Successful participants may be eligible for full or part-time employment with CorePlus following completion of the program.

About CorePlus Credit Union

CorePlus Credit Union is a federally chartered, member owned, not for profit cooperative. We are a not for profit, not for charity, but for service credit union founded in 1936. With a strong emphasis on community development and member well-being, CorePlus Credit Union is dedicated to creating financial wellness for all.