Story Highlights

• Ja’sai Simmons was an intern at the World Bank Group Treasury.
• He was brought in through Urban Alliance’s High School Internship Program and had the opportunity to work with the front office team for six weeks.
• He is a Coolidge High School graduate, and is set to start at George Washington University under a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Mass Communications in the School of Media & Public Affairs.

Here is my confession: I had no experience or idea what the World Bank Group Treasury was before my time here. My knowledge was minimal, coming only from one of my peers who had participated in the World Bank Group-Urban Alliance internship the prior summer. With that in mind, I was terrified long after I had already applied and had gotten in through in Urban Alliance’s college and career readiness program. How was I supposed to contribute when I had barely the knowledge to understand the general finance and technicalities of the World Bank Group? I felt like a fish out of water, far beyond my comfort zone and scared of failing, but I was determined to grow and to learn from my time here.

Admittedly, the first two weeks started out slowly, as my initial expectations in working in a more professional setting like an office was “work, work, work.” However, it was mainly reading, doing the required onboarding training, and talking to others, waiting for my first task to participate in. It was then that I truly began to grasp what important work the Treasury does through the conversations I had. I had the belief that it was just like any other bank, issuing bonds, managing money, the stock market, and whatever other financial lingo could come to my mind. However, there is so much more to the Bank. For example, where the World Bank Group Treasury even came from. It started off in the International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD), ever since it was first conceived on July 1^st, 1944, at the Bretton Woods conference. It was interesting to learn how the World Bank Group had started as an initiative driven to rebuild the European Market ever since World War II, especially knowing just how detrimental the war was not just from a physical or emotional standpoint, but from a financial one as well.

The more I read, the more I realized just how much the organizations have collectively grown, expanding from simply helping other countries out of the rut the second World War caused, to being a force for economic growth. With stories such as their first loan, which refers to their first financial transaction with French corporation, Crédit National, in March 1947, or the development of pandemic bonds, a direct result of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Africa, the Treasury has been awe-inspiring when it comes to not only financial transactions, but their ability to keep pushing for projects and ideas to further assist any and every client country that they can reach.

At the center of it all is the people. The Treasury, spread over IBRD and their two sister organizations, IDA and IFC, is driven by everyone who works here, whether it be directly or indirectly. This includes those who work on analyzing data to aid in the development of a country, those who are simply learning the ins and outs of what it is to work in finance through the summer internship, or the investors the Bank interacts with for their chance at investing in a bond to contribute to development activities of client countries. Through this, an almost loop-like process has been maintained ever since its creation back in the earlier days of the World Bank Group. From how I’ve been learning about the entire process, the investors, are an integral part of the World Bank Group. They’re like the columns that keep the Treasury and Bank standing. This is through the process of lending, where investors lend money to the institutions of the World Bank Group in the form of bonds before the funds are lent to one of its various client countries in the form of loans. In return, once the loan is due, the client country returns the original amount paid, also known as principal, in addition to interest. Rounding off the process, the Bank, then, pays back the principal and remaining interest due, to the investor it borrowed from, thereby making sure everyone is satisfied in their transaction.

Soon enough, more time went on and I got the opportunity to discuss with the other Treasury interns and I also got the chance to interview four Junior Analysts (also known as J.As). They were all unique, different in their own way. However, the more I talked to them, the more I noticed there was an air of similarity, one that I could not seem to escape, they were collectively driven to follow the mission of the World Bank Group. I could see it in their eyes, the way they talked about the projects they were involved in, the way they seemed comfortable in their presence here. It was beautiful to see; the way they all seemed to have this feeling that they aren’t just here for money or work but are genuinely in it for the mission.

To conclude, I have enjoyed my time in the Treasury. It’s been beyond amazing, being able to meet new people, pushing myself to learn and adapt to the ways of being in a corporate setting, and seeing that my initial conceptions of working in such a workspace being intimidating and competitive were wrong. Instead, it’s a community, one that is driven to not only challenge one another, but to grow with one another and become a better version of who you already are. Not only that, but it is important to try new experiences. Through this, I truly learned more about myself and the potential to build a better future.

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Footnote: Ja’sai Simmons, the writer of this article, was an intern at the World Bank Group Treasury. He was brought in through Urban Alliance’s High School Internship Program and had the opportunity to work with the front office team for six weeks, before leaving August 14^th. He is a Coolidge High School graduate, and is set to start at George Washington University August 24^th under a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Mass Communications in the School of Media & Public Affairs.

The High School Internship Program is a 27-year partnership between the WBG’s Community Connections team and Urban Alliance. It supports students from historically excluded communities in the Greater Washington, D.C. area. To date, over 490 students have completed meaningful paid summer internships at the WBG, gaining exposure to international development, mentorship, and professional skills. In 2026, the WBG was announced as Community Partner of the Year by Urban Alliance in recognition for its longstanding commitment to job creation for young people in our local community. To learn more about the program, please email comoutreach@worldbank.org.