Thank You, Bank of America - A Brilliant Professional Development Day in Chester!
Recently, we were proud to partner with Bank of America (Chester branch) to deliver another unforgettable Professional Development Day- this time for Year 8 students from Bedford High School and The West Leigh School in Wigan.
The day was packed with inspiration, insight, and encouragement, and we’re incredibly grateful to Bank of America for opening their doors , and their time, to our young people.
We kicked things off with a warm welcome from Iwona Szmidt, Managing Director, who shared not only her journey at the company, but her personal connection to Leigh. It was a powerful reminder to our students that their aspirations can take them far, but there can also be many opportunities close to home.
Throughout the day, Bank of America volunteers generously gave their time to share their career stories and highlighted the different routes into the working world - from apprenticeships and creative degrees to graduate programmes. Their honesty and enthusiasm helped students understand the wide range of possibilities ahead of them, and the importance of finding your own path.
As ever, one of the most exciting moments came during our Dragons’ Den-style challenge, where students developed and pitched their own product ideas.
Their creativity blew us away, some of their amazing product ideas included:
- Your Health Matters - a smartwatch that alerts you when you're unwell
- Sleepel - a wearable that gives you a boost when you’re low on energy
- Green Goblins - an immersive game that gives players superpowers
Every single young person stepped up to the challenge, presenting with confidence and receiving real-time feedback from professionals. It was wonderful to see how much they grew in just a few hours.
The sunshine meant we could enjoy lunch on the beautiful office grounds, and volunteers and students spent time reflecting on the day’s highlights. We loved hearing Emily from Bank of America reflect on
“ how amazing it was that so many young people were clear on their passions and what they want to do.”
We’d also like to shout out to one young person, who arrived asking “Where’s the vault?!” - and left having led his team through a pitch with poise and humour. “I had a great experience,” he told us at the end of the day.
If your organisation is interested in partnering with AllChild to support young people through days like these, we’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to Rachel at rnickolds@allchild.org
Written by Aimee Clark
