Student Board of Directors Program
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Isha Chaudhari: Hi. My name is Isha Chaudhari, and I’m from Fort Zumwalt West High School.
Sara Brand: My name is Sara Brand, and I go to Oakville High School.
Ric Jain: My name is Ric Jain, and I go to Mary Institute Country Day School, or abbreviated as MICDS.
Mary Hails: I’m Mary Hails from Lafayette High School.
Brand: While serving on the student board, I learned a lot about the Federal Reserve, actually -- mainly what they do and their role in our national economy.
Chaudhari: And one of their biggest goals is to uphold the dual mandate, which is keeping price stability but also maintaining maximum employment.
Jain: One thing that I learned about the Fed while being in the Student Board of Directors is how vast it is.
Brand: Overseeing banks, making sure that our payment systems aren efficient and a lot of the lesser known things that they do -- I thought that was really interesting.
Hails: Everyone has to handle money at some point, has to get a job, has to understand finances and budget and interact with this economy. So it’s super important for young people to get that head start, understanding what the Federal Reserve does and how that affects their life.
Brand: You do get a lot of professional development skills -- like you learn what’s a good interview. You learn how to interview, what type of interview questions people might ask. You learn how to dress, what is “business casual”, how to write a resume, stuff like that.
Jain: What it looks like to come to work is something that contrasts heavily with high school, but I think getting that experience early on helps you understand it. And it’s also really crucial for when you go up for internships in college.
Chaudhari: I’ve learned so much about the Fed, and it sparked a new interest for me which I would love to explore in my college career.
Hails: I would absolutely recommend the Federal Reserve Student Board to any student. The meetings were something I looked forward to every month.
Jain: I got opportunities to network with senior executives and people that I wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to talk with. And they were really kind, approachable. They wanted to be there. They wanted to help us out and I think that that was one of the best experiences I got.
Brand: There is a lot that this program offers, and it’s not just numbers and math and graphs. It’s a lot of really interesting stuff that will benefit you in your day-to-day life.
Chaudhari: I would definitely recommend this experience for upcoming students because I’ve made so many friends and learned so much about the Fed that I truly believe that it’s a valuable experience to have in your life.
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The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Student Board of Directors program provides St. Louis-area high school seniors a dynamic opportunity to learn about the nation’s central bank. Members of the Student Board of Directors will gain an understanding of the Federal Reserve’s role in the U.S. economy, receive financial literacy education, and gain career insights from St. Louis Fed employees. After successfully completing the program, students may apply for a limited number of summer internships at the St. Louis Fed.
Student Board of Directors members will:
- Learn what the Fed does and how it applies to everyday life
- Work with other student board members to create a presentation about the Fed and share it with their school
- Learn career-planning best practices through multifaceted interactions with St. Louis Fed leaders, former interns and seasoned professionals