(Washington, DC)—Today, Gallaudet University and the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) announced that Gallaudet students will have expanded opportunities to gain practical work experience in municipal government and financial services regulation, thanks to DISB’s Financial Services Academy.
Gallaudet University president Roberta J. Cordano and DISB commissioner Karima M. Woods will participate in a ceremony on the Gallaudet campus in Northeast Washington where they will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that formalizes and builds upon an already-existing partnership. They will be joined by other university and DISB officials, faculty members, and Risk Management and Insurance students.
Under the MOU terms, DISB will create fully accessible internships for Gallaudet undergraduate and graduate students, including those who are underrepresented, to introduce them to the financial services sector, with the goal of opening full-time employment opportunities. These internships will be offered through DISB’s Financial Services Academy. Gallaudet students will also have the opportunity to put their newly acquired skills to use within the local deaf community. There will be robust partnership development and industry partnership engagement, and joint marketing of the program.
“We greatly appreciate DISB’s commitment to our students in opening internship and employment opportunities,” said Gallaudet President Cordano. “Through this endeavor, our first formal agreement with a District of Columbia agency, our risk management and insurance, finance, and entrepreneurship students will gain practical work skills and have access to a much larger network. I thank Commissioner Woods and DISB for making this possible.”
“In keeping with Mayor Bowser’s vision for inclusive prosperity and financial empowerment, DISB is committed to providing young people with opportunities to pursue careers through our Financial Services Academy,” said DISB Commissioner Woods. “I am particularly pleased to formalize our successful relationship with Gallaudet University and am confident it will continue to be of great benefit to students and the Department.”
“Gallaudet was the first university in the Washington metropolitan area to place interns with DISB, starting in 2016,” said the executive director of Gallaudet’s Maguire Academy of Risk Management and Insurance, James H. Bruner. “Due to the overwhelmingly positive experience DISB has had with Gallaudet's Risk Management and Insurance students, the Department is opening up internships with other universities, not just for work experience in the insurance field, but also in the banking and securities fields.”
The mission of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) is three-fold: (1) cultivate a regulatory environment that protects consumers and attracts and retains financial services firms to the District; (2) empower and educate residents on financial matters; and (3) provide financing for District small businesses.
Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind individuals through American Sign Language and English. The university enrolls over 1,300 students in more than 30 undergraduate majors, as well as many graduate programs at the master’s and doctoral level.
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