The Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) has announced a new partnership with the George Washington School of Business aimed at increasing opportunities for more of the university’s students to pursue careers in the financial services industry.
The partnership, which officially began on Oct. 15, also represents the latest expansion of the DISB Financial Services Academy, according to DISB.
“In keeping with Mayor [Muriel] Bowser’s vision for inclusive prosperity and financial empowerment, we are thrilled to partner with GW to encourage more students to pursue careers in the financial services industry,” said DISB Commissioner Karima Woods.
While the partnership will enable GWSB to promote the Financial Services Academy to its students, faculty and staff will collaborate with DISB to help reach a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students with internship and experiential learning opportunities, the department said.
The Financial Services Academy, composed of five programs, is a public-private partnership among DISB, local education institutions, and private companies.
The academy also serves as a year-round program designed for youth and students in high school, college and postgraduate programs.
Its purpose is to introduce and expose high school and college students to the financial services sector; eliminate barriers, like unpaid internships or scarce pre-career opportunities, and to build pathways for all communities to successfully gain full-time employment in the insurance, securities and banking industries.
Liesl Riddle, GWSB Vice Dean for Strategic Financial Services at the Academy, said that GW Business, which offers a strong finance program, is ranked #2 among U.S. institutions in the Financial Times.
“Partnership with DISB’s Financial Academy provides our students with the opportunity to apply lessons learned in the classroom to solve real-world problems in our neighborhood, Washington, D.C., neighborhood,” Riddle said.