Farmington High School is renovating the Black Knight Branch which is available and accessible at the front of the building during seminar and lunch hours. The Black Knight Branch or BKB is a small extension of First State Community Bank also known as FSCB and can do almost anything and everything local banks can do. The bank has plenty of opportunities that future senior students can take advantage of. Juniors can take a look at their email during the second semester and fill out the google doc to apply.
The Bank Manager, Donna Miller, who has been involved in both FSCB and BKB for many years, tells us more about what the bank can do for its students. Not including FSCB, Miller has had experience with teaching at the Farmington R-7 school district for 30 years as a second-grade teacher at Washington Franklin.
“I have been involved in FSCB for four years, and BKB for three and a half years,” stated Miller.
Miller goes on to say her knowledge has advanced from working and managing the bank as well as some lessons she has learned over the years.
“It gives knowledge of things most people wished they would have learned much earlier such as loans, credit scores, how banks operate, customer service, etc,” explained Miller. “I also learned about how the banking industry functions and I also learned how much FSCB is a community-oriented bank.
This bank is available for students during seminar and lunch hours to help you out if you need to pull money out of your account or just need a smaller amount of money for the vending machine. The Black Knight Branch can be useful for high school students.
Miller states the time that The Black Knight Branch is open and gives a brief description of what the bank can do for students.
“We are open to High School Students and Staff from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every school day. We can also process transactions such as cashing checks, making deposits, making withdrawals, loan payments, as well as change orders.”
Even though the bank is a serious institution, lots of memories can be made while working there. As you work with students of your age you become really close friends. Currently amongst the tellers there is an ongoing Secret Santa happening where all the tellers will pull a name and give a gift to another teller for Christmas time! Miller shares her favorite memory she has had throughout the years working at The Black Knight Branch.
“Three students got into the Night Deposit and had me take a picture and the other three students got in as well,” joked Miller.
Night Deposit is a task that the students who are not working the teller line work together on. Students will work on these so the money is secure and is in dual control. These are deposits that have been dropped off by other Farmington R-7 School Districts in the Vault. They can consist of lunch money, depositing checks from club organizations, etc.
Miller tells us more about how the bank plans to rebrand while the students are on Christmas Break so that students can recognize it as a bank and how they have changed throughout the year already by providing the student tellers with maroon-colored polos instead of black polos.
“We are currently rebranding the bank to make it stand out more, for instance, changing the color of the awning, wrapping the ATM, painting the bank grey to update it, and changing the color of the student teller polos so they can stand out more,” said Miller.
Senior Jessica Wade, Vice President of Marketing for The Black Knight Branch, has been involved in the bank since the beginning of the semester and with her knowledge, she also gives more information on what the bank does.
“The BKB functions as a normal bank; it is student-led, so all the students are trained to be tellers at one of the three Farmington Branches during the summer so that they are prepared to serve customers during the school year,” Wade explained. “Additionally, we learned how to change out the ATM provided for students in the High School Lobby. There are 2 Teacher Advisors, Donna Miller and Erica Dement. There are also 6 senior students, Jessica Wade, Ryker Jones, Brandon Arena, Hayden Wade, Bradley Talley, and Lainie Moran.”
Students can gain a lot of skills when working for the bank. The bank can be very influential for students as it can teach you the responsibilities of working at the bank, keeping the bank safe and secure, and more knowledge on what banks can do for you in the future. Wade shares some skills she has learned while working at BKB.
“Some skills I have learned while working here are customer service, more efficient counting skills, and banking procedures that I can use in my future career,” stated Wade.
While the bank is a very formal place, there is also a fun aspect of working there with your senior friends. Students can come together and make new friends with this experience. Students who do not work the teller line on scheduled days get to sit in the back and make memories together while also working on Night Deposit.
“Even though I’ve been here for almost a semester, my favorite memories are of all the food days for birthdays, just because, and for getting our work done well in advance,” said Wade.
Wade tells us what her plans are for her future and about what this experience has taught her for her college career plans. These experiences can be very beneficial to students if they are going into business-related majors, or just have experience with customer service for jobs in the future. Donna has been a great help with recommendation letters and being a reference for college admissions.
“I would like to go into Marketing and at BKB, I am the Marketing Officer,” explained Wade. “Through this program, I get experience in Marketing and Advertising, a real business, and we have the opportunity to work at one of the other branches during the second semester, which will be extremely beneficial for my future career.”
“If you would like to get more involved in our bank, you can cash or deposit checks and money if you currently have an account with FSCB or not,” Wade explained. “Even if you don’t have an account, our tellers are open to explaining your options and aiding you in starting one. We can even do change orders. Juniors; make sure to be on the lookout in your emails so you can apply for your Senior Year! This could be you next year!!” exclaimed Wade.
While the bank is updating over Christmas Break students are still available to fill out applications. These applications will close at 3 p.m. on January 7th, 2025. Students are available to fill these out during Christmas Break. The Bank Manager Donna will reach out to you for an interview. Interviews will be scheduled after applications are closed.
Students can apply on the Google form or the paper version which is able to be picked up at the bank. Wade gives us more insight about her experience filling out the form and applying for her position.
“I did the paper version which you can pick up at BKB in front of the school, but there is also an online version that is emailed to Juniors,” said Wade
Miller goes into all the positions that students can apply for. Miller also informs us on how to fill out the form and when it will be available for submission.
“Students can apply for all teller positions, as well as officer positions which include, President, VP/Public Relations, VP/Marketing, Chief Financial Officer, Security Officer, and Board of Secretary,” Miller explained. “Each of those officer positions has a mentor at the Main Bank that they meet with periodically throughout the year.
Juniors! Please be on the lookout for The Black Knight Branch application form posted on the Class of 26’ Google Classroom. You will apply and then be selected for an interview with The Bank Manager, Donna Miller in the Second Semester. If you have any questions the bank is open during all lunch shifts and seminar come in any time! Donna or the students are open to any questions you may have.
