Shaquitta came to Association House looking for financial education and a jumpstart to support her son. Six years later, she's a leader in her field, and her career has only continued to blossom.
On the south side of Chicago, Shaquitta was raised in a lively household where education was everything. Her childhood memories include frequent trips to the library, academic competitions, and scholar programs. At the time, these experiences seemed like the normal busy schedule of any child-- but looking back, Shaquitta credits her mother with giving her the tools she needed to excel when the odds were against her.
"My mother did a beautiful job at structuring such a colorful upbringing. So good, that I didn't know that I was poor until high school. I was invited to a friend's summer house. Are you kidding me? We didn't even have one house. My mother received $603 a month from Social Security. She completed all her transactions with cash and money orders. If she were here today, it would floor her that I work at a bank," says Shaquitta.
After high school, Shaquitta enrolled at Chicago State University in pursuit of a psychology degree. However, her priorities quickly shifted with the birth of her son, Tyree. She realized a financial education could come in handy when her son was 7 months old. She put an $18 outfit on a credit card and let it sit for two months, accidentally doing serious damage to her credit score.
Shaquitta came to Association House as a student in our Financial Careers Training course. Between caring for her son and classes at Chicago State, she came to the House to gain new knowledge in banking and financial literacy. After months of long days that put her dedication to the test, she was hired at Huntington Bank as a Financial Relationship Banker.
Now, six years on, Shaquitta has received four promotions at Huntington, now serving as Branch Manager and Assistant Vice President. With Huntington, she also leads the African American Business Resource Group of Illinois and Wisconsin, empowering Black people to pursue leadership in the business world.
Shaquitta credits her time with Association House as the jumpstart to achieve her goals: "This organization has done so much more than assisting me with a career. Association House has provided me with the foundation to create generational wealth. I can now help people build their credit. I am now able to help someone purchase a home. This is not a responsibility I take lightly!"
This year, in celebration of Association House's 125th anniversary, we honored Shaquitta as our participant keynote speaker at our annual Faces of Hope gala, motivating our community to support the mission of the House.
We're proud to have Shaquitta still on board as a volunteer, and as an ambassador for the House through her work. Her story speaks to the power of our workforce development programs, helping people on their paths to rewarding careers and lifelong stability in our city.
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Learn more about our Financial Careers Training program, and all of our workforce development courses, at associationhouse.org/workforce-development.
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