Arvest Bank’s Ignite Intern Program celebrated its fifth anniversary this year during challenging and unprecedented times. But just as the more than 6,000 associates who work for Arvest strive every day to live our mission statement – People helping people find financial solutions for life – this year’s group of 41 interns spent their days coming up with solution after solution to achieve two primary goals: to gain invaluable real-work experience and leave a lasting impression on our company.
Our interns came from 17 universities in six states and spent the better part of three months working in all four states that comprise the Arvest footprint. They worked in nine of the bank’s 14 regions and 12 different departments/divisions. The program has come a long way since 2016, when 12 interns served a handful of departments.
In addition to their daily work, interns attend professional development sessions at which they hear from key leaders and learn about the many functions of the bank, as well as topics like networking, personal branding and resilience. Typically, some also embrace Arvest’s role as a local partner and participate in community service events.
Another feature of the Ignite program is the class projects intern groups are assigned. Applying their education, experience and unique points of view, the class is tasked with a real-world issue. This year, the group as a whole was asked to make a short video that illustrated the story of their internship, and what makes each and every one of them – and their experiences – unique.
The effort culminated recently with a presentation of that video to a large group of bank executives and senior managers. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into Ignite.