On Feb. 16, Elizabethtown College welcomed Sekou Kaalund, the head of branch banking at U.S. Bank, as part of the College’s 2022-2023 Lecture Series program. Kaalund presented Leading for Sustainable Community Impact, where Kaalund shared his story, gave advice and discussed the best way to maximize growth and talent.
Kaalund’s visit to Etown marks the second of four lectures given by speakers and professionals with the goal of “enlightening, engaging and entertaining.” Before the event, Kaalund took time to talk with students and other members of the Etown community to answer any questions that they may have had. After conversing, Kaalund took the stage to share his story and experiences working in the banking industry. Following Kaalund sharing his experiences, there was an open question and answer period, where those in the audience were able to ask Kaalund his advice on different topics.
Prior to visiting Etown, earlier this month Kaalund was named as U.S. Bank’s head of branch banking, a newly created position which will allow him to “lead the bank’s branch and small business banking efforts with the regional executives.” Before joining U.S. Bank, Kaalund served in a variety of roles at JPMorgan Chase. Here, he helped create many programs that were designed to give back to the community and help to influence change within them. While Kaalund has helped to make significant change in recent years, it wasn’t always that way. “You don’t start day one and then drive impact day two, it doesn’t work like that,” Kaalund said. “So I had to structure and understand what types of experiences would give me the opportunity to realize and figure out types of partnerships that would help me drive significant change.” To further reinforce this idea, Kaalund shared one more piece of info with students that were in the crowd. “Don’t expect to instantly do the thing that is going to be a change maker for you unless you are a doctor, perhaps,” Kaalund said. “But, for me, it was what skillset do I need to develop, to again, be anchored driving the impact that I wanted to.”
After talking about how it took time to impact change, Kaalund shared some information about how he was able to impact change with a program that he helped create. The program, according to Kaalund, helped influence communities about the importance of banking and doing so smartly. As Kaalund said, “I was talking to students earlier, if Elizabethtown was building a new stadium, gymnasium, building, you finance it. You work with banks. And so, if finance is so critical, then how do I ensure that finance touches many communities that have not been to engage in that relationship?” Building upon this idea, Kaalund also shared how he was able to help communities establish a positive relationship with banks and the idea of finance, which included creating pathways allowing JPMorgan Chase to hire over 4,000 Black students.
As mentioned, Kaalund’s visit is a part of the College’s 2022-2023 Lecture Series. Kaalund is the second speaker to give a presentation at the College, following Anthony Ray Hinton, who spoke in November 2022. Yet to speak are Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, and Valerie Jarrett, New York Times bestselling author. Wozniak will be visiting on March 29, while Jarrett will be speaking a few weeks later on April 13. Those who are interested in attending either presentation can register online. However, Wozniak’s presentation will be held at the Lancaster Marriott and Convention Center and does require registration and a ticket fee.
