March 2, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Central Bank.

On the basketball court, SDSU forward Luke Appel and guard Matt Mims are teammates.

Off the court, they’re colleagues – interning together at Central Bank’s Brookings location.

Through their graduate assistant, they were introduced to the Brown family, owners of Central Bank.

It started with Mims, who earned his bachelor’s degree in consumer affairs and now is in graduate school for sports administration.

“We got to know John Brown through his son, Billy, who was our grad assistant and is now on the coaching staff. I shared my career goals and interests with John, and he said the bank would give me an opportunity to intern,” Mims said. “I said I’d love to do it.”

He began interning last summer. By August, Appel had joined him. He’s earning a degree in business economics and is pursuing a master’s in applied business economics.

“We both got the opportunity the same way,” Appel said. “I was thinking more financial advising at first. I did an internship but didn’t love it. Then, I came to Central, and it’s been a great experience.”

For the Brown family, internships are a key step in the career journey. In the past 32 years, the bank has welcomed approximately 150 interns.

“It’s important to my brother Tim and I,” Central Bank president John Brown said. “We both got our start in banking as summer interns at our hometown bank, Graettinger State Bank in Graettinger, Iowa.”

Mims began his experience at Central shadowing senior vice president and market president Justin Gray as well as vice president and commercial banking officer Matt Tonjum. He then took on a project researching an emerging marketing opportunity for the bank.

“I wrote a report on the benefits of it for the bank and then began managing and updating a number of accounts,” he said.

When Appel joined, he and Mims helped with a database move and continued shadowing as the bank’s senior leaders met with clients.

“In school, you learn the basics,” Mims said. “Here, I’ve learned just how much relationships matter, especially as a commercial lender. Seeing how the bankers connect with clients and how they talk to people is one of the most impactful lessons I’ve learned during my internship.”

Appel added they also learned to read credit reports and understand debt service coverage ratios.

“Seeing how the bank accepts or denies a loan has been informative,” he said. “And, experiencing what a typical day looks like for a commercial banker has been motivating and fun.”

The SDSU interns are both “very driven and outgoing, and they have great personalities,” Gray said. “As student-athletes, they aren’t afraid to take on a task and are committed to succeeding because of their natural internal drive to succeed. They bring great energy into the building, they engage with staff and customers, and that puts everyone in a good mood.”

The bank works with their busy basketball schedules so the internships could continue during the school year. Lately, both players have been practicing at 7 a.m. and doing their internships in the afternoon.

“When we don’t have class or basketball, we come into the bank, and they have projects for us to help with,” Appel said.

The team is getting used to seeing them come to practice dressed in their work attire, Mims added.

“Our teammates look at us like we just got off the clock, and that’s been fun,” he said. “I appreciate how flexible the bank is with us and am thankful to have the experience to put on my resume.”

“It’s a unique opportunity for the bank too,” Gray said. “They’re driven and able to balance a heavy workload between their academics, sports and internships.”

Outside the bank, Central Bank has shown the interns plenty of support too.

“I don’t think our co-workers have missed a home game,” Mims said. “I’m not the tallest guy, and they always tell me they’re looking for a dunk during warmups. I try to give them one.”

“John Brown has come to multiple games, and it means a lot,” Appel added. “They genuinely care about us and want us to have successful careers beyond basketball.”

They’ll be cheering on Mims at the upcoming Summit League Championships, too, while Appel recovers from a broken shoulder.

“Our customers and staff attend as many games as possible during the regular season and plan to make the trip to support Luke and Matt at the Summit League tournament,” Gray said. “A lot of us are alumni, and the workplace relationships we have with Luke, Matt and the team make us feel more connected as spectators.”

Both players still have playing time left. Mims is athletically a junior, and Appel has one more year of eligibility.

As they look to their careers, the experience at the bank has been formative already.

“I’m going to live and work in Brookings this summer,” Appel said. “The bank is assigning us more responsibilities, and it’s fun to see the progression. We’ll both drive to Sioux Falls on certain days and start learning more about the credit analyst role.”

While Mims has an interest in coaching one day, “I’m really enjoying Central Bank, so I’m leaning that route as far as a career one day,” he said.

It has been such a good fit that Appel’s roommate and teammate – a business economics major – is interested in interning too.

“I think he’s starting in a few weeks, he said. “Then, there will be three of us.”

They’ve even embraced the bank’s motto, “make it happen,” outside of their internships.

“We make it happen,” Mims said. “We’ve almost adopted that with the Jackrabbit basketball team. Say we’re down five points. We’ve just got to make it happen.”

 Opportunities await

Central Bank’s Career Trainee Program offers young professionals the opportunity to gain comprehensive exposure to all aspects of banking and the financial services industry. The program entails rotational experience, professional development, on-the-job training, mentorship, leadership and community involvement.

The Central team frequently attends career fairs at local universities to connect with potential employees and interns; however, the bank is always looking for motivated individuals to join the team.

View current opportunities and available positions by clicking here.

Affirmative Action Employer, Equal Opportunity Employer