Arkansas Capital, in partnership with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), has launched a new “Minority Careers in Lending” internship program for the 2023 spring semester and is pleased to welcome Lamar Townsend, a student at UALR, as its inaugural intern.
The goal of the internship is to increase minority representation in the economic development and lending industries by offering a real-world opportunity for college students interested in pursuing careers in these fields. The internship is paid, and there is an additional stipend for tuition, room and board, and related expenses.
Townsend is pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Finance/Real Estate and in Political Science. He expects to complete his studies in 2024.
In 2023, Arkansas Capital is celebrating 65 years of work and successful partnerships with commercial banks, government agencies, and other organizations from the local, state, regional, and national levels in providing fair and responsible financing packages to distressed areas.
Since 1957, nearly $2.4 billion has been deployed, resulting in over 11,000 jobs created. In 2015, Arkansas Capital was designated by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which is only for organizations with a proven track record of generating economic growth and opportunities in distressed areas.
CDFIs must also demonstrate future commitment to serve these areas. According to CEO Sam Walls, the internship was also designed for staff to learn from the intern’s real-life experiences to help steer the company’s strategic focus of advancing opportunities for minority and female small business owners.
“Minorities are still under-represented in the lending industry,” said Walls. Arkansas Capital feels creating this opportunity is a natural extension of our work as a CDFI and our team is very excited about this initiative. We appreciate UALR for working with us to make it happen. It is our hope that in the future we can expand this program to other colleges and universities around Arkansas.”
According to Dr. Deborah Baldwin, interim dean of the UALR College of Business, Health, and Human Services, college students tend to rely on the experiences of their families and their family networks when choosing careers and often follow in their parents’ footsteps. “Finding pathways into banking and finance can be a challenge. Arkansas Capital’s new internship program opens a new door for those who have not previously considered careers in finance and banking,” she said.
Townsend says his internship experience has proven to be beyond his expectations. “I have learned so much about Arkansas Capital and its SBA lending and New Markets Tax Credits programs,” he said, adding, “It has been the best internship I’ve had so far.”
