Cleveland Fed Pilots Program to Encourage Students to Consider Economics, Finance as Career Options

This week, 12 students from five school systems were selected to participate in the Fed Future Professional Program (Fed Futures) pilot program. The program is a four-year paid internship that includes professional development, job shadowing, and hands-on work experiences to encourage high-school students, specifically those in underserved communities, to think about economics and other areas within the financial industry as possible careers.

“We created Fed Futures because we saw a need to start much earlier than college if we hope to attract more women and minorities to the economics field and other careers in the financial industry,” says Khaz Finley, manager of the program. “Of course the ultimate goal of the Fed Futures program is to retain the best students as employees at the Federal Reserve, but we know that what they learn here will give them a strong foundation for starting a career in economics or any STEM field at another organizations as well.”

This first cohort of students represents the following school systems within the Federal Reserve’s Fourth District (all of Ohio, and portions of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and West Virginia):

• Columbus Public School District
• Gahanna- Jefferson Public Schools (Columbus)
• Avonworth School District (Pittsburgh)
• Cleveland Metropolitan School District
• Campbell County School District (Kentucky)

The program is being piloted in Cleveland, and the Reserve Banks of Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, and Richmond were part of the planning process. As the program progresses, those Banks also plan to recruit students from their communities to participate in the program at their Bank. More information on student programs at the Cleveland Fed.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.

The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Media contact

Doug Campbell, doug.campbell@clev.frb.org, 513.218.1892