Berkshire Bank grant supports first-generation students, new internship program at Salve
Salve Regina has announced a grant from Berkshire Bank that will directly fund scholarships for first-generation undergraduate students and support the development of a new internship program for Salve students pursuing degrees in business, finance and marketing. Berkshire is a leading, socially responsible community bank with financial centers in New England and New York.
Berkshire executives visited with Salve leadership and students on the Newport campus on several occasions during the University’s year-long 75th anniversary celebration in 2022-23. The grant, made through the Bank’s Foundation, not only commemorates Salve’s historic milestone but also supports the University’s ongoing commitment to expanding access to education and bolstering community-based learning opportunities that bridge workforce gaps and create pathways of upward mobility for traditionally underserved families.
“At Berkshire, we believe that building stronger communities requires a better approach to banking,” stated Cristina Feden, Berkshire Bank’s regional president. “Working with the Rhode Island community to improve the overall quality of life to help support personal and financial growth is important. We are pleased to work with Salve Regina University and provide support helping students reach their educational potential. It was great to spend time with the students and learning about their college journey and milestones.”
In newly-released rankings for 2024 by U.S News & World Report and The Princeton Review, Salve earned accolades for being academically high performing while also being a best value by delivering need-based grants and scholarships. Salve was also recognized for being a top performer on social mobility for its high success in graduating students from traditionally lower family incomes.
Berkshire Bank’s Inna Walker (right) and Christina Feden (left) visit with a couple of scholarship recipients to learn about community-based projects they are working on.
Jim Fowler, Salve’s vice president for enrollment management, said Berkshire Bank’s support in establishing an internship program for business students serves as an example of how community partnerships can augment experiential learning opportunities for Salve students in highly intentional ways, ensuring that future graduates will have the skills and competencies that employers are demanding.
“We know that families are expecting colleges today to do more than just provide the curricular knowledge base that their generations received,” Fowler said. “They are expecting their students to leave college with career ready competencies that will allow them to transition seamlessly to post-graduate success. Partnerships like the one we’ve developed with Berkshire Bank are critical in helping us deliver on that promise.”
More than 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled at Salve Regina from across the U.S. and around the world in 48 undergraduate majors, 13 master’s degree programs, numerous combined bachelor’s/master’s programs, and doctoral programs in behavior analysis, humanities, international relations and nursing. The Salve Compass program, the university’s signature four-year experiential framework connecting college to career, empowers students to explore, define and pursue their academic and professional goals through intentional and transformational programming. The university is also home to the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, a multidisciplinary research center focused at the intersection of politics, policies and ideas.
Berkshire Bank, founded in 1846, is becoming a high-performing, leading, socially responsible community bank. It empowers the financial potential of its stakeholders by making banking available where, when and how it’s needed through an uncompromising focus on exceptional customer service, digital banking, and positive community impact. Providing a wide range of financial solutions through its consumer banking, commercial banking and wealth management divisions, the bank has approximately $12.1 billion in assets and a community-based footprint of nearly 100 financial centers in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank. Named one of America’s Most Trusted Companies by Newsweek and America’s Best Midsize Employers by Forbes, Berkshire is also listed in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.
Featured Photo Caption: Inna Walker (left), Berkshire Bank’s VP Relationship Manager and Cristina Feden (right) Berkshire’s President, attend a 75th anniversary event with Salve President, Kelli Armstrong.
