Career and Leadership Development Academy Digital Technologies Day Blog (Class of 2023)

Written by the 7th-grade team at Myrtle Grove Middle School

Throughout the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s Career and Leadership Development Academy eight month program, each of the eight middle schools are assigned a day to write about their experiences. 43 students from across all eight New Hanover County middle schools participated in the first industry exploration day, Digital Technologies, on September 7 at Live Oak Bank. In addition to learning about the careers at Live Oak Bank, they had the opportunity to hear from Grover Gaming and Vantaca, two other local companies in the digital technologies space. Below is the first blog write up of the first ever Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s Career and Leadership Academy experience.

1–Our experience today:  It was a very exciting experience.  Everyone seemed so welcoming.  The way everyone spoke with not only us students,  but with everyone in the building, it was very special.  It just seemed like everyone was  there for eachother.  (example:I had seen an IT guy talking with a bigtime person, and when we walked by it was not about their job for that day, it was about their weekend and how it was spent.  It was just neat to see the “higher ups” talking with the “regulars”.  Another exciting point was the outside area, and how big it was.  It was cool to see folks working out there instead of at their desks.  There were so many areas outside to get away in a quiet space.  Just a very special place. The cafeteria was as good as we have ever seen.  So many choices and so clean.  We have never seen a total establishment like this before.  Truly awesome.  We believe the Live Oak Bank model should be incorporated into every business model out there.  It inspires people to be better, to be more comfortable in their surroundings, to want to make a difference in not only their customers' eyes but the eyes of their peers. 

2–We had seen many people with all different jobs that day.  There were 4 buildings that housed all sorts of workers and the gym.  The buildings were so unique too.  The look and feel of Live Oak Bank was special.  The whole space was so inviting that we never wanted to leave, from the moment we walked into the beautiful presentation room to the final landing spot on the roof of the gymnasium.  First class all the way.  

3–Who we heard from:

Moe Kruegar:  He is the senior loan officer.  Specializing in RV and Parks, and lending.  He presented the Financial Aim of Life.  He has been in this  position for 7 1/2 years.   He talked about the ideal customer.  Traits include: being driven people, having an identified project, having experience in the field, credit score being above 700.  He stated a major motto for their company is “treating our customers like they are the only one at our bank.”  He stated there are almost 900 workers at the Wilmington location.  Live Oak Bank is the #1 SBA Lender in North Carolina.  They have over 9 billion in total assets. 

Tim Bridgers:  Senior Vice  President.  He is the head of Funeral Home Care.  He spoke with us about credit.  He said “credit is the ability to borrow  money with the promise to pay it back with interest.”  Those credit scores rank from 300-850.  Scores between 300-600 is bad/low credit ranking, 600-700 is a mediocre credit score, and 700 and up good.  Having  a credit score of 700 and up gives the Small Business lender a better chance for success in getting the loan.

Brandy Keck–Senior Vice President.  She is the head of veterinary lending.  She talked about the 50/30/20 rule.  50% of your paycheck goes towards your needs (groceries, gas for auto, electric/cable/ect.-- bills, school supplies (clothes, notebooks, pens and pencils, notebooks, binders, glue sticks).  30% of your paycheck goes towards your wants (dream car, boat, special clothes/shoes, dinner out, concerts, theater plays, sporting events, animals, trips, “the fun stuff”).  The final 20% of your paycheck should go into savings. Building up your savings is an important part of life.  This is where you can start saving for a new home or transportation to get from work to home and school events.  The 50/30/20 rule is a great way to get on track with your life and to start being responsible for getting our lives in order.  

Brad Day:  He  is the chief compliance officer for Live Oak Bank.  He  focuses on the risk and compliance parts of the business. 

Reece Johnson: Reece is the Loan Closing Specialists for small business banking.   

Michael Yankus–Senior DevOps Engineer

Chris McAbee–Director of Corporate Health and Wellness. What a great gig to have.  The gym was beautiful, well kept, and run professionally.  It seemed like everyone part of the Live Oak Bank was involved with the gym.  Even the spouses of the folks working  there could use its services.  

 4–What we learned.  Credit scores, credit and debit, budgets (50, 30, 20 rule), loans, digital technologies.  What we learned today is that there are many other avenues / jobs out there instead of the “normal” banking.  The opportunities seemed endless at Live Oak Bank.  We could have never imagined the possibilities at a bank until today.  I just wish every student at Myrtle Grove Middle School could have seen this place.  We also learned that this program (Chamber of Commerce) we are in is going to change our perception of the workforce forever.  So glad we have the opportunity to see all sorts of different careers available to us.  We cannot wait until next month to see the PORT.