A Summer of Learning and Impact at Loudoun Credit Union

Loudoun Credit Union 2026 Summer Interns Jackson Vincent and Yukta Thirumalai.

For nearly 50 years, Loudoun Credit Union has believed that investing in our community means investing in the people who will shape its future.

This summer, that commitment took on special meaning as we welcomed two local students to join the Loudoun Credit Union team for an immersive internship experience. They also earned a small place in LCU history: becoming our first summer interns to work from our new flagship location in historic downtown Leesburg.

Over the course of the summer, our interns weren’t simply here to observe. They were invited to participate, ask questions, offer ideas, and make a genuine impact on the credit union and the members we serve.

Working alongside teams throughout LCU since June, they gained firsthand experience with lending, marketing, member service, operations and financial education. Their work included researching competitive rates and products, helping upgrade and organize back-end systems, developing ideas for future promotions and products, participating in community outreach, creating financial wellness content and gathering direct feedback from members.

Just as importantly, being based in our new downtown Leesburg home gave them the opportunity to see the credit union’s mission in action every day.

“Our new location was designed to bring Loudoun Credit Union closer to the community, and our interns became part of that from the very beginning,” said Michael Falvey, CEO of Loudoun Credit Union. “They weren’t sitting on the sidelines watching how a credit union operates. They talked with members, worked alongside our team, and contributed ideas that can help shape what we do next. 

“They brought tremendous energy and a fresh perspective to LCU, and we’re grateful for the work they accomplished this summer.”

Learning by Doing

One of the goals of the internship was to give each student exposure to the many different pieces that make a member-owned financial institution work.

For Jackson Vincent, a finance student at James Madison University, that meant getting deeply involved in the financial side of the organization. 

He worked alongside LCU’s lending team to learn about credit reports, debt-to-income and loan-to-value calculations and rate determination. He also analyzed competitors’ rates across savings, money market and loan products and contributed ideas for new products and promotions.

Jackson described the experience as “a true crash course in how a financial institution runs,” adding that he was able to get “hands-on experience across nearly every corner of the business.”

He also had the opportunity to think about what could come next for LCU, proposing concepts ranging from rewards for consistent savers to new tools for building credit and promotions designed for younger members.

“One of my favorite parts was getting to think like an innovator,” Jackson shared. He thanked the team for “trusting me with such a wide range of responsibilities and for showing me what member-focused banking really looks like.”

Yukta Thirumalai, a rising senior at Briar Woods High School, spent much of the summer focused on marketing, sales and the member experience. Her projects ranged from market research and content creation to promotional campaigns surrounding Leesburg First Friday. 

She also helped script and film financial wellness videos for young people and contributed ideas to LCU’s ongoing website improvements.

“One of my favorite projects was scripting and filming financial wellness videos for youth, making complex financial topics feel simple and approachable,” she shared. “I also got to contribute ideas toward a redesign of the credit union’s website, thinking through how to make the member experience more intuitive.”

Fresh Perspectives That Make Us Better

For Chief Experience Officer Amanda Ivicic, who oversaw much of the interns’ experience, the program was intentionally designed to be more than a traditional summer internship.

“We wanted them to experience the entire credit union and understand how all of the pieces connect back to the member,” Ivicic said. “But we also wanted their voices. Young people experience financial services, technology and communication differently, and that perspective is incredibly valuable to us.”

She added: “They asked thoughtful questions, identified opportunities and produced work that our team can actually use. They weren’t just interns learning from LCU; we learned from them, too.”

That exchange of ideas is especially important as Loudoun Credit Union continues to evolve. Serving members well means preserving the personal relationships and community focus that have defined LCU for decades while continuing to improve the technology, products and experiences members expect today.

A Partnership With Loudoun County Public Schools

The internships also reflect LCU’s strong relationship with Loudoun County Public Schools and a shared commitment to connecting local education with meaningful, real-world experiences.

“Loudoun County Public Schools is developing talented, curious young people right here in our community, and we are proud to be a partner in giving students opportunities to apply what they are learning,” Falvey said. 

Beyond these internships, LCU worked with the LCPS Career and Technical Education team to have students create the street signs at their new location. LCU is also the leading investor in year two of Loudoun Education Foundation’s Workforce Development Fund, which funded multiple paid internships at sites across the county.

“For a community-based credit union, this is exactly the kind of investment we should be making,” Falvey continued. “We want young people to understand finance, understand their community and see that they can have a meaningful role in both.”

The benefits of that investment extend in both directions. Students leave with practical skills, professional relationships and a better understanding of the financial system. LCU gains new perspectives from the generation that will become our community’s future members, employees, entrepreneurs and leaders.

As Thirumalai reflected at the conclusion of the summer: “I’m walking away with a much deeper understanding of marketing in the financial space, and I’m excited to carry these lessons forward.”

We couldn’t ask for a better outcome.

To our summer interns: thank you for your curiosity, your creativity and the energy you brought through our doors every day. You helped make our first summer in our new downtown home a memorable one, and you left Loudoun Credit Union better than you found it.

We can’t wait to see what you do next.