Providing the tools to help tomorrow’s leaders succeed

Since 2004, Student Leaders® has been part of our ongoing commitment to youth employment and economic mobility. We’re helping prepare a diverse pipeline of community-minded young students to be successful in the workforce through leadership training and work experience.

By driving responsible growth, we deliver for clients and address pressing societal issues, including advancing employment opportunities for youth and young adults. Through our Student Leaders® program, we annually connect more than 300 community-minded high school juniors and seniors from nearly 100 communities to employment, skills development and service.

The students hail from many diverse backgrounds, but are united by their drive and commitment. Through paid internships with local nonprofits and participation in a national leadership summit, they gain practical work and life experience.

If you or someone you know have a passion for improving the community, see where the Student Leaders program operates and learn more about our eligibility criteria.

Browse the FAQs on our Student Leaders program.

The application period for the 2022 Student Leader program has closed. Students will be notified of their application status in mid-April. The application period for 2023 will open in November.

Students raising their hands

Opportunity to serve, inspire, change

Every year, hundreds of community-minded high schoolers are accepted into the Student Leaders program. They get first-hand experience in serving their communities through a paid eight-week internship with nonprofits like Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Habitat for Humanity.

They also get to see how nonprofits, governments and businesses collaborate to meet local needs by participating in the national Student Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C. Many of the students use their new-found skills to create more change and improve more lives, with inspiring stories of enthusiasm and commitment.

Student Leaders

Eligibility criteria - how to become a Student Leader

Interested in broadening your leadership skills? Learn more.
Shreya Balaji

Local Sacramento student honored as Bank of America Student Leader®

When Shreya Balaji found out that Sacramento is one of the sex-trafficking capitals of the United States, she was eager to do something to fight the problem.
girl speaking

Student Leaders share their hopes for building a more diverse and inclusive society

Our 2020 Bank of America Student Leaders have been finding their voice and developing leadership skills to help them tackle some of the challenges we face, from a health and humanitarian crisis to the need for greater racial equality.
Seph Brown

The face of our Student Leaders®

Yehowseph “Seph” Brown’s time at The Boys and Girls Club helped him understand of how nonprofits engage communities and strengthened his resolve to center his life around social justice in his hometown of Cleveland.