Last year, senior Victoria Swindle volunteered to facilitate the Junior Achievement Program at Aiken Elementary School. Little did she know that that experience would land her a seat at Junior Achievement’s Annual Spirit of Enterprise Dinner & Awards Ceremony and the opportunity to interview and introduce Ian Stewart, Chairman of BNY Mellon Pennsylvania and the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Treasury Services.
A member of Keystone Oaks’ chapter of the National Honor Society, Victoria was one of several students who taught the Junior Achievement program to students at Aiken Elementary last school year. She “instantly clicked” with a representative from Junior Achievement and, last February, spoke about the merits of the program to a group of Junior Achievement supporters. Victoria’s involvement and leadership earned her the opportunity to interview Mr. Stewart, who accepted BNY Mellon’s Impact Company of the Year award at the Spirit of Enterprise event.
“It was a very surreal and positive experience to be able to interview Mr. Stewart,” Victoria said. “My dad took me downtown to BNY Mellon’s office one day and I had the opportunity sit and talk with him for 40 minutes. He could not have been more genuine and he was also sincerely interested my experiences and what my plans are after high school.”
Victoria took the information from the interview and wrote an introduction for Mr. Stewart, which she delivered at the Spirit of Enterprise Dinner in November. She was pleasantly surprised when he, in turn, incorporated a few facts about her in his speech.
“He was the only award recipient to do that,” Victoria added.
“I am very grateful to Junior Achievement for the opportunity to get involved with the program here at Keystone Oaks and to represent the program to business leaders in Pittsburgh,” she said.
After graduation, Victoria plans to student Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh and wants to combine her loved of reading, traveling and learning new things with a career that combines data and technology – perhaps for a museum or library.