8 August 2023
It didn’t exactly feature on her wish list: being an intern at our bank. And yet third-year student Keisha is chuffed to walk around our Amsterdam head offices, confounding all her expectations: "I was like: I’m a social work student, how would I end up at ABN AMRO? It doesn’t make any sense!"
It's February 2023, shortly after 9.00 am. Slightly tense, 25-year-old Keisha Opoku walks into the ABN AMRO head office on Gustav Mahlerlaan. Impressed with the huge building, she spots her fellow student, wearing comfortable loungewear. "Oh no,” Keisha thinks, “I’m way overdressed. And where do I go? This building is so big, how will I ever find my way?”
Once she makes it to the 24th floor, though, the tension eases, as she receives a very warm welcome from the Lead by Example team. Her team. ‘’I thought it would be very, very scary,” she recalls. “But it wasn’t half bad. The team had everything in place for my arrival – and I received my ABN AMRO coffee mug, of course – such fun!’’.
Social Point collaboration
Born and bred in the south-eastern part of Amsterdam, Keisha Opoku is a third-year social work student at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA by its Dutch acronym). Her course includes regular guest lectures by people in the business, one of which was by Kwame Agyapong-Ntra of Stichting SPE, an organisation committed to knowledge development among youngsters, especially from the south-eastern part of Amsterdam, and which – like ABN AMRO – is part of Masterplan Zuidoost.
Three weeks later, she received a phone call from Kwame. He informed her about an internship at ABN AMRO, working on the Social Point programme for Zuidoost. Social Point is an ABN AMRO programme committing knowledge, experience and resources on financial resilience and entrepreneurship to help those in society who have fewer opportunities. One of the things the Social Point Zuidoost programme does is to create internships for Amsterdam-Zuidoost’s youngsters.
‘’He thought the internship my suit me. But I thought: I do social work, how do I work at ABN AMRO? It doesn’t make any sense!’’ Although sceptical at first, Keisha decided to apply for the position. ‘’I’d read up on Masterplan Zuidoost and thought: this really is a great opportunity to build a network and get to know local organisations. I had a sense that great things might come of this.’’
Freedom and hands-on supervision
Her intuition proved correct, and she has absolutely no regrets six months on. ‘’Not a day is the same around here. I meet new colleagues pretty much every day, challenging me to present myself. I have lots of meetings with colleagues, but also with people from outside the bank. And that’s all on top of my day-to-day duties, of course.”
“I’m currently doing desk research on debt counselling and am taking stock of what ABN AMRO is offering in terms of debt prevention and financial education. Meanwhile, I’m creating a training course I’m supposed to give at a school in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, about prejudice and stereotypes. Its aim is mainly to create awareness among young people of diversity, inclusion, prejudice and how to handle these, including in the world of business.”
About the supervision provided for her at ABN AMRO, she says: ‘’My team is giving me a lot of freedom to discover what projects I fancy. My supervisor Marit is a great help, outside the internship space as well. I went through a couple of things at home, and she’s really helped. I heard that the project in which I have a part-time job is coming to an end, and Marit has helped me look for job openings.’’
Internships at ABN AMRO
Keisha wholeheartedly recommends an internship to friends and fellow students: “One of my colleagues at work happens to also study social work and I told her she really should do this. It’s a wonderful learning experience and looks great on your CV. This internship has made me much more disciplined. I’ve learned to create more of a routine in the way I work, to keep in touch with people, and I’ve challenged myself to do things I wouldn’t normally do.’’
And what tip would she give to future interns? “If you’re someone who’s not looking to do the same things every day, who likes to travel to different places in the Netherlands for meetings: apply to do your internship at ABN AMRO! It will really open your eyes. And the dress code? Casual is just fine.”
Your internship at ABN AMRO
Want to be an intern at ABN AMRO? We have over 500 vacancies for interns, so there’s bound to be something that appeals. Check our vacancies.