There’s always something great about local businesses. At 573 Magazine, we pride ourselves on unbiased coverage of outstanding local organizations. Businesses that operate on a merit-based system of excellence are always on top of our list. That means they open their doors each day and let their employees climb as high as they like within their organization. We are always looking for people who want to put honest hard work, and pride into what they do.
One local/regional organization has taken the idea of merit-based employee growth to an entirely new level. They’ve created an outstanding internship program that offers a full-time job for those who want an opportunity with no limitations. I’m talking about First State Community Bank. With hard work and dedication at FSCB, you truly can still work your way to the top. I love that idea.
Meet Jacob Carron. He was an intern in 2019 then he started working part-time...
Meet Jacob Carron. He was an intern in 2019 then he started working part-time while he was still going to school at Missouri State. He was offered a full-time job once he graduated and never looked back. He’s now a business systems analyst in the FSCB Leadership Academy. Tell me that doesn’t sound cool—Leadership Academy.
My name is Jacob Carron. I am a business systems analyst at First State Community Bank. I started here about four years ago in the internship program. After that internship program, I transitioned into a part-time role that ultimately transitioned into a full-time position. I recently moved very close to the bank, and it has been a great time in my experience.
I’ll be the sixth generation in that area, so my roots are here.
My family’s been here for a long time. I’ll be the sixth generation in that area, so my roots are here. I have a lot of family. I have two younger sisters; my parents still live in the area, and my grandma still lives in the farmhouse she’s lived in since she was born. She’s been there for quite a while, so I have an over 100-year-old farmhouse. Many of my hobbies revolve around that farm, going out, hiking, and just taking care of it. I’m very, very big into hunting, and I’m very blessed to have that land to go and do deer, turkey, rabbit, and squirrel hunts.
Outside of being around the farm and the family, I enjoy many hobbies around here, like tennis. I like to go over to Engler Park. I also enjoy biking around some of the state parks in the area—St. Joe State Park is a favorite. I love hiking over at Pickle Springs too.
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In the very beginning, one of my goals was that I didn’t want to move to the city.
My role as a business system analyst, what I do is I’m sort of an interface between technology and the business side of things. Whenever you have things such as a process that you want to be improved, there’s a technical component in the banking world, but then there’s also a business need for that. So what I will do is work with multiple different users and stay at the bank. I’m to say, hey, here are the requirements. For example, here are some data points that we need, and we need it to follow these rules, so I will go into the right programs to simplify what someone might’ve done manually and make that easier. So instead of doing these five things, I will write some logic and code to say OK, do that automatically now.
...the experience of going from an internship to a full-time role was great!
I fell in love with the people at First State Community Bank during my internship. It only took me about three to four weeks to realize there was something special here. All the people that I worked with were very supportive of me. In the very beginning, one of my goals was that I didn’t want to move to the city. I loved the career path I was choosing, but many of the stereotypes for banking are that if you’re in the field that I’m in, you have to move to a big city. So whenever I found this opportunity to be close to the stuff that I love, around the outdoors, I could also go in and work on the stuff that I work at for work in the technology area. I knew it was just a perfect match. And the experience of going from an internship to a full-time role was great! There are so many mentors that I’ve been able to learn from here and just a wealth of knowledge. How they serve their communities is incredible and makes it even better to be a part of. While I might not have a customer-facing role, I work with people that are ultimately customer-facing, and to support them and finally support that mission is something special.
Hi, I’m Bryant Allen. I am the coordinator for the development leadership and internship programs for First State Community Bank.
They learn teamwork and presentation skills.
The intern program starts with an orientation where the interns learn a little about the organization and team-building camaraderie. They learn teamwork and presentation skills. After the orientation, they go back to the branch and learn about the bank and aspects of the department or on the front line. We have them come in at the end of the summer and do an expo and presentation on what they learned throughout the year.
Our return rate is fantastic. Over 25% of the interns come back and work full-time, with a close to 80% retention rate of those interns, and I think we’ve had roughly 33% of interns working in total. That includes full-time and part-time workers.
I am always amazed at the level of talent in the 573. Watching First State Community Bank grow into such an excellent organization these past twenty years has been inspiring. They GET OUT THERE. You should try it yourself. Get up, dust yourself off, and run with the life you have. If you focus on excellence, the world will reward you handsomely. Get Out There! Do something. Do anything. YOU can do it.
by T. Smugala
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