Citi Provides First-Ever Internship to Irving Students

Real-world experience. That’s a phrase used quite often in education, but what does it mean? For MacArthur High School’s School of Business and Entrepreneurship, it means a lot thanks to Citi. 

Although Citi and MacArthur have been working together for some time, it’s now official. The leading global bank, along with Irving ISD officials, signed an agreement on Wednesday to make Citi a sponsor. And everyone’s excited about it, especially Carlos Villatoro. 

Carlos, a 2017 graduate of MacArthur and student in the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, knows the importance of Citi’s presence in the school. He applied and was selected for Citi’s Global Command Center High School Intern Program, an opportunity that was first granted to Irving ISD. 

“The internship helped me realize that a lot of the information that was taught in class was not just theories or ideas but rather frameworks for how businesses work in the real world,” Carlos says. “The internship also gave me the critical thinking skills needed for me to not only get hired as an employee but to keep thriving at Citi.”

And thriving he is. Three and a half years later, Carlos is part of the bank’s domain name and registrar team which ensures Citi is providing global support to businesses in the area of domain name.

Isabella Feltner, global training and domain name manager, could not be happier with the hire. “Carlos’s passion for learning and open-minded attitude set him apart from any new hire,” she says. “He now leads projects that result in significant savings to the organization and is a key point of engagement for senior management and strategic partners.”

And the great news is that more students like Carlos will benefit from this sponsorship. Every year, five students from the program are selected for the internship. From brainstorming meetings with executives to project requests with two-hour deadlines, it’s experiences like these that prepare our students for the future.

Thanks, Citi, for taking real-world experiences to a new level. 

For photos from the event, click here.