Fernanda Vasquez loves her new job at a bank, but she’s no ordinary teller. Vasquez is a 17-year-old high school senior and the bank she’s working at is in a converted classroom at Lincoln High School.

The bank branch, which opened two months ago, is the result of a partnership between San Francisco’s Union Bank and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The idea is to introduce high schoolers to the world of banking and finance as well as provide a pathway to a career in finance.

While the students are tellers, the branch is not typical. It does not serve the general public, just students and their parents, faculty and school staff.

“Most students in high school are missing an essential need in life: how to manage money and finances,” said Leticia Aguilar, L.A. regional director for Union Bank. “They leave financial management to professional experts or go without. This program seeks to break that cycle.”

Vasquez said her banking experience has been invaluable.

“Before this, I never had a bank account and my mother spoke no English, so I had to use my limited financial knowledge to translate for her,” she said. “This is the first time in my life I have ever felt really grown-up; now I’m looking at going into finance after college.”

– Howard Fine