ST. JOSEPH, MI (August 12, 2014) -- Three former United Federal Credit Union interns have returned to UFCU to begin their professional careers after successfully graduating from college. The hiring of the 2013 interns, Andrew Jary, Zach Weir and Ben Wyse, marks the successful completion of UFCU’s first organized internship program. The newly hired employees work across a broad range of departments including Finance, Business Products and Advertising and Public Relations. A new intern, Cara Deschermeier of Saginaw Valley State University, has been added for 2014 and she will support the Learning & Development team.
“We are extremely pleased with the results of our internship program and look forward to growing it in the future,” said Cindy Swigert, Chief Human Resources Officer. “By recruiting early, we are able to train these young professionals while they are still in college and then offer them employment at UFCU when they graduate. Not only does this help us maintain a fantastic service-focused employee base for our Members, it also helps grow the local job market.”
Students are expected to meet the same employment standards as current UFCU employees as well as any additional criteria their school requires for participation in the internship program. This includes applying for the internship in their sophomore or junior year, maintaining a 3.5 G.P.A. and obtaining three letters of recommendation from non-personal references such as instructors or previous supervisors.
“The response from potential interns has been great,” said Swigert. “We have introduced students from Grand Rapids to Saginaw to what UFCU and Michigan’s Great Southwest has to offer. Our eventual goal will be to expand the number of internship positions available so that we can provide even more opportunities for some of the best and brightest students in our region.”
During the first year of the program, the approach has been to recruit from small and medium-sized colleges located in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois that offer a similar environment that UFCU provides in Berrien County and those to focus on colleges that offer the appropriate majors necessary for success at UFCU.
“We look forward to the future of this program as UFCU continues to grow,” said Swigert. “It is a proactive approach to prepare a talent pool for the increased service levels that our growth will demand.”
About UFCU
United Federal Credit Union has served its Members since 1949 by helping them to build a sound financial future. UFCU consists of more than 120,000 Member/owners worldwide, and manages assets in excess of $1.57 billion. Its corporate offices and main branch are located in St. Joseph, Mich., with additional branches in Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio. UFCU has been named the Michigan Credit Union League Outstanding Credit Union of the Year 2013. UFCU has also been named the National Federal Credit Union of the Year 2013 by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.