Volt opens new branch inside Hillcrest High School

Chris Moss: New Volt branch could serve as workforce driver for the credit union.

Katie Kensinger: Students will learn on-site business skills that can't be replicated in the classroom.

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Nearly 90 years into its existence, a Springfield-based credit union has gone to a local high school to open its newest branch.

A May 2 ribbon-cutting ceremony followed the April 29 opening of Volt Credit Union’s third branch in Springfield, at Hillcrest High School, 3319 N. Grant Ave. The unique partnership of Volt and Springfield Public Schools marks the first time in Missouri that a credit union or bank has opened for business inside a school, according to Volt President and CEO Chris Moss.

Located near Hillcrest’s cafeteria, the branch is managed by Courtney Keleher, who also is a certified financial counselor. In her role at Hillcrest, Keleher is tasked with overseeing at least eight student interns who, beginning this fall, will learn job skills they can take with them beyond high school.

“Right now, what my interaction with (students) is just being open. They are getting kind of curious about us, so I’m answering their questions when they come in,” she said. “How do they open an account? Why are we there? Also, running a few transactions when they come in to deposit some money because there’s a few Volt members already there.”

Keleher, who has managed Volt’s other north-side branch at 2440 N. Kansas Expressway for nearly three years, said she will split time between the two locations. The branch inside Hillcrest is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. four days a week and is exclusively for Hillcrest students and staff.

“I was incredibly excited,” she said, regarding the opportunity to lead the Hillcrest branch. “Being able to be part of an organization that teaches them more about financial literacy before they go off to be on their own, just kind of get those basics down first and know what to do with a financial institution and how to work with one, I thought that was really exciting.”

Moss said the credit union occupies a previously unused space in the high school.

“It’s not near what it would be for our standard branch that we have existing, but there is a significant investment on our side,” he said, declining to disclose startup costs for its new location.

The branch’s initial opening will be temporary, as it will close for the summer when the current school year ends May 23. It will then reopen when the 2024-25 school year for SPS begins Aug. 19.

Volt employs 23 and serves over 7,000 members in a nine-county area, according to officials.

Student staff
Students enrolled in Hillcrest’s business classes will have the opportunity to work shifts as tellers.

“Our goal is to have around eight students in the fall so that we can have some 90-minute shifts and we can have a few students just kind of rotate in,” Keleher said. “Really, we’ve had some great feedback from the teachers and help in getting the kids interested in filling out applications to go through that application and interview process.”

Interviews are scheduled for the last full week of classes, according to Volt officials. Katie Kensinger, director of college and career readiness at SPS, said roughly 35 students have applied as of May 6, adding the internships are available for sophomores, juniors and seniors. Interns will receive class credit but won’t be paid, she said.

Kensinger said a draw to locate the branch at Hillcrest was the college and career academies, a credited course that allows students a chance to focus on pathways such as teaching, health sciences and business management.

“Because we had an audience of students who were very interested in that world, it felt like an appropriate space to add a work-based learning experience for those students who would be going through that program,” she said.

Volt’s presence in the school is authentic to students seeking exposure to a working business, Kensinger said.

“There are going to be some learning experiences there for students that we can’t recreate in just a typical classroom,” she said. “Logistically speaking, to be able to have that on site and not have to worry about getting transportation to another site or even the time it takes to travel to another site is quite ideal when we’re looking at just the instructional time.”

Moss said Volt’s initial hope is to help students with financial literacy. However, he also acknowledges the internship could lead the participants to future job opportunities with Volt.

“They’re going to learn on-the-job, real-world skills that will help them,” he said. “Ideally, we would love for them to stay with us once they graduate, whether that be a part-time position or a full-time position. Obviously, that is not going to be the case for everyone, but these skills will be transferable to other industries or even another institution. It’s a line in the resume that’ll help them with their career as they go out to the real world.”

In the works
Conversations about a high school-based branch started well before Moss came on board in October 2023. Volt officials first announced the plan to open in Hillcrest in January 2023.

“Our involvement in the community kind of identified the need,” Moss said of opening the Hillcrest branch. “We do a lot of ventures, whether that be sponsoring or just community involvement or coaching. We’re actually working to be more active on the financial counseling side.”

Kensinger said Volt has been involved with Hillcrest in other avenues prior to opening the branch. Those include serving as a sponsor for the school’s Parent Teacher Student Association, by providing funds for various events and activities held by the organization, as well as sponsoring athletic programs at the high school.

While Moss said he’s hopeful the new branch will be a successful venture for Volt and SPS, it’s too early to determine if another similar collaboration is in the offing.

“We’ve internally had conversations about it. We obviously want to see how this experience goes,” he said. “By no means are we expecting this to be a financial driver. It’s really more of a relationship building, but we want to see what kind of turnout we have, if students are actually utilizing the branch and gaining experience from the financial services.”