JPM allies with teachers

For many seniors seeking the nation's most prestigious employment opportunities, graduating with a promising job offer is a top priority.

Because of a new partnership JPMorgan Chase and Teach For America, some lucky students may be able to accept not just one--but two--attractive job offers.

The financial services firm and the educational provider for low-income students have teamed up to allow applicants accepted to both organizations to defer their start date at JPMorgan while spending two years working for TFA.

"JPMorgan is trying to find ways to allow the top candidates to have the best of both worlds," said Debbi Korb, who runs the North American campus market for JPMorgan's investment bank.

In addition, the new employees will receive their signing bonuses from JPMorgan before they begin working for TFA and will benefit from mentorship and summer externship opportunities.

Korb said the partnership will let students who are interested in programs like TFA--but are financially attracted to corporate jobs--to fulfill both ambitions. She added that it may also spark interest in investment among teaching-oriented students who had not previously considered other professions.

Senior Patrick Erker, who has already applied to both organizations, said he has been attracted to TFA's mission of eradicating educational inequity since he first heard about the program, but noted that financial security has also influenced his ambitions.

"Money is a big issue," Erker said. "You can do a lot more good in life with more money."

Rachel Bordoli, managing director of recruitment for TFA, distinguished the organization's leadership-based training from traditional approaches and said TFA employees will adopt skills that will be assets to JPMorgan. "It's really quite different from a traditional teacher training program. When people have gone through this, they're really strong candidates for all sorts of things," Bordoli said. "The candidates that come to them after two years in the classroom will actually be stronger than when they were first out of school."

In turn, an important part of the organization's mission is to spread the message of educational injustice to all areas of society, TFA representatives said.

"We need our alumni to go on to the other sectors as well as stay in the classroom," Hult said. In addition, graduates with skills in math and science have gravitated to corporate jobs in the past and TFA is likely to also benefit from an increased pool of teachers in those fields, Korb said.

Yolander Albert, associate director for the Career Center, added that students interested in both organizations are atypical.

"Usually folks who apply to the banks kind of know that is what they want to do," Albert said. "If they don't get a job at one of the banks, they do some other things. I don't know if Teach For America is one of those other things."

Erker, however, said he is one student who is attracted to both organizations and considers the partnership an alluring prospect. "I see it as a three-way partnership between JPMorgan, Teach For America and individuals like myself," Erker said. "As someone who wants to run a business someday but also wants to give back and at the same time secure my future, it's hard to imagine a better five-year plan."