Laura McKinney
Community Development Officer
First Community Bank
Lexington, SC USA
“You can learn a lot from those who are willing to sit down with you and share of their time, and you can also learn from those who are not.”
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
After a college study abroad in Russia, moving overseas, meeting America business people in the county of Estonia, and starting the American Chamber of Commerce in Estonia.
Joining the US Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer and serving as a Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Marrying my husband, LTC Jim McKinney, and raising our children while living and traveling across the country and around the world.
Returning to South Carolina to join First Community Bank which my father, Jim Leventis co-founded.
Education
High School
AC Flora High School
AC Flora High School
Bachelor
Slavic Languages & Literature
University of Virginia
Slavic Languages & Literature
University of Virginia
Career
Community Development Officer
I connect people, organizations and businesses with our bank resources for success and significance.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Entrepreneurship
Problem Solving
Day to Day
The best part of my job is that there is no typical day! My work is guided by the outreach strategy that my team and I have developed to meet the goals for the Bank. In very broad terms, I get to travel around to communities across the State that First Community Bank serves and connect with people to make sure they are aware of the resources that the Bank has to offer.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Find someone that you admire or who has a job that you think you would like, and ask them to have a cup of coffee with you. You can learn a lot from those who are willing to sit down with you and share of their time, and you can also learn from those who are not.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Bachelor
Communication, General
Communication, General
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"You are too young to share your opinions."
Challenges I Overcame
Trying something new.
