Saint John Native Credits Experiential Work Opportunity for her Breakthrough in Banking

As a young student, deciding on your future career path can be overwhelming.   Sometimes it takes a few different experiences to figure out your interests, and some real world experience in the workforce.

This was the case for Saint John native, Briann Scovil in 2016. Like many high school students, Briann, 17 year-old student at Harbour View High School was trying to determine her next step.

“I had a very vague idea of where I wanted my future to go, and by vague, I mean that I had absolutely no idea,” says Scovil.  “When you’re 17, the options can seem infinite, and making the decision of ‘what you want to do for the rest of your life’ can be daunting.”

Briann eventually made the decision to attend Mount Allison University to major in accounting.

“I was really good at math, I loved organization, and my mom was an accountant, so off to university to become an accountant it was!” says Scovil.  “Surely, I had thought, I would love accounting based on my self-reflection.”

However, after a couple years in, Briann came to the conclusion that accounting was not the route for her.

“Near the end of my second year, I found out I did not love accounting,” says Scovil.  “Luckily, in with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, I had a number of courses to choose from that I could specify in.  But what courses I wanted to specify in for the following year was another decision to make.  At least I had the summer to think about it.”

Conveniently at this same time, Briann came across a job posting that interested her.

“RBC was hiring at a Sackville branch, offering a summer-student employment position,” says Scovil.  “I did some research on RBC’s summer internship programs and decided to submit my resume.  Long story short, I got the job.  I thought, a summer working in the bank would have me find out whether I like finance of not, and luckily for me, I did.”

Each year, RBC offers over 1,400 summer-student internships throughout its business functions.   Students are offered the opportunity to gain practical work experience and skills to help them prepare for their future.   All RBC summer-students in New Brunswick have the opportunity to work in a RBC Branch, and apply to become a New Brunswick student ambassador.

Students also have access to RBC Virtually Together Hub, where students can connect with leaders, colleagues and each other.  As well, they can get involved with interactive learning programs and informal mentoring and collaboration opportunities with RBC Café, the company’s virtual networking platform.

For Briann, this summer opportunity with RBC completely changed her career path, and eventually led her to a full-time role at RBC upon completing her degree at Mount Allison in 2020.

“Since joining the RBC family, they have provided me with a number of opportunities over the years,” says Scovil.  “Including becoming the RBC Student Ambassador for MTA, a professional social network in the banking industry, future education outside of post-secondary, as well as an opportunity to get involved in my community through volunteer work with Atlantic employee resource groups, Jack.org, and other local charities.”

Currently working as a Customer Service Representative for RBC Direct Investing, Briann highly recommends young students to look for experiential learning opportunities, which might help guide their future, the same way it did for her.

“RBC gave me more than just a job,” says Scovil. “They gave me a space to grow, learn and be curious, which empowered me to explore further career options and expand on my personal growth.”

To learn more about RBC student opportunities, visit https://jobs.rbc.com.

For more information on experiential learning opportunities in New Brunswick, interested employers and students can check out more success stories during RBC Future NB Week from January 24-28, 2022 at https://futurenewbrunswick.ca/