Record Number of Students Participate in RMA’s Certificate, Scholarship Programs to Develop Financial Industry Talent
PHILADELPHIA, PA (July 13, 2021) – The Risk Management Association today announced important milestones for its programs that support and develop the next generation of financial services industry talent. RMA said participation in its Credit Essentials Certificate (CEC) broke records in Spring 2021, while its Scholarship Program has surpassed $1.2 million in awards to students pursuing financial industry careers.
In the spring, 236 students representing 18 colleges and universities earned the CEC, up from previous highs of 157 and 14, respectively. In all since 2018, 800 students have earned the CEC, which validates commercial credit risk knowledge and skills — and differentiates certificate holders from other candidates when seeking employment.
In addition, RMA is providing awards totaling $152,500 to 79 college students in 2021. Since the RMA Scholarship was launched in 2015, students have received 526 scholarships, totaling $1,220,500. The most recent awards ranged from $1,500 to $5,000 per student.
Anna Nguyen is this year’s winner of the Githens Award, which recognizes the most distinguished scholarship applicants. Nguyen is a rising fourth-year student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a first-generation college student, Nguyen has excelled, earning a 3.97 grade point average while majoring in finance. Her path toward a financial industry career has included working as a teller and an intern for Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank. The Githens scholarship is named in honor of RMA’s former President and CEO William F. Githens, who retired in 2017.
“At RMA we are proud to recognize all of the scholarship and Credit Essentials Certificate recipients, and especially Anna as our Githens Award winner,” RMA President and CEO Nancy Foster said. “A big part of our mission is to encourage students to pursue careers in banking and set them up for success. That’s why it’s so fulfilling to see RMA scholarship winners and certificate earners putting their learnings into practice every day and making a positive difference for their institutions and the industry.”
The Credit Essentials Certificate and RMA Scholarships are part of RMA’s Academic Program, through which RMA also provides complimentary RMA membership to students as well as curriculum and materials for the RMA Credit Essentials course at colleges and universities.
Visit RMA’s Student Resource Center for more information on scholarships and the Credit Essentials Certificate.
About RMA
Founded in 1914, The Risk Management Association is a not-for-profit, member-driven professional association whose sole purpose is to advance the use of sound risk management principles in the financial services industry. RMA promotes an enterprise approach to risk management that focuses on credit risk, market risk, and operational risk. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, RMA has 1,900 institutional members that include banks of all sizes as well as nonbank financial institutions. They are represented in the Association by 18,500 individuals located throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia/Pacific.
Media Contacts
Stephen Krasowski, skrasowski@rmahq.org, 215-446-4095
Frank Devlin, fdevlin@rmahq.org, 215-446-4137