Edith Garcia was a single mom of a two-year old living in the garage next to her mother’s apartment. She had her son Damian the year after her high school graduation, while she was working as a cashier at Home Depot. She took one year away from work to give herself completely to her son. Then she took a job at a department store, where she worked the early shift. It took a lot of energy and time away from her son. She knew she needed a different line of work.
“I started looking at financial institutions and I got a couple of interviews, but I was never selected to continue on,” said Edith.
She found BankWork$, our eight-week free program offered on Craigslist.
“I’m going to sign up and see how it works,” remembers Edith.
Today she is a relationship banker at BMO, which acquired her former employer Bank of the West. She credits BankWork$ with preparing her to succeed.
BankWork$ teaches students the fundamentals of sales and customer service, banking and lending products, basic accounting and the relationship building skills necessary for success.
Now she offers her customers options in their financial needs, although she still enjoys working the teller line. “I would rather keep my box and help my customers in the teller line because there’s a lot of opportunity there to uncover my customers’ needs…and bring them down to my banker desk, where I can help them,” adds Edith.
One of the most important parts of the program, according to Edith, was how the instructors prepared them for interviewing. She credits her instructor, Julian Hampton with giving her the confidence to get to where she is now.
“It was kind of tough on me at first. He would bring out a camera and record us, ask us interview questions, ask us about ourselves, our skills and that was a little bit difficult,” said Edith. “I was kind of out of my comfort zone. I honestly appreciated that from him because I would grow into the person that I am now.”
Edith credits BankWork$ with changing her life. Today, she’s had another child, lives in a two-bedroom apartment and sees a future full of opportunities in the financial industry.
“If it wasn’t for BanklWork$ I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. And thanks to BankWork$ I also have a branch manager that went through the same program, that I can relate to,” concludes Edith.
If you’re inspired by Edith Garcia’s story and would like to help someone else achieve their dream, please donate today.
