An Edmonds resident is one of two local students now working in the banking industry, after finishing the YWCA BankWork$ program.

YWCA BankWork$ is an eight-week training program that prepares local residents with low incomes for employment as bank tellers and offers graduates entry into banking industry careers. It was sponsored by the Mountlake Terrace Home Street bank.

Two local students graduated from the program last month.

Esrom Debesai, an Edmonds resident, is originally from Washington and speaks two languages: Tiginya (an African language) and English. Esrom is 20 years old and graduated from Meadowdale High School. Right after high school, he worked at Burlington Coat Factory as a cashier. That is where he fell in love with customer service and working with money. He knew that customer service was calling but he wanted to work in a more professional atmosphere. Esrom has two friends that also attended the BankWork$ program. After graduating, they both are now working at Homestreet Bank. After hearing about the program, Esrom wanted to join it. He graduated on Jan. 12 and accepted a full-time offer with Bank of America.

An Phung, a Lynnwood resident, is from Vietnam and speaks three languages: Vietnamese, English and Chinese. She received her B.S. degree in accounting in 2013. Shortly after that, she became pregnant with her now 6-month-old daughter and decided to be a stay-at-home mother. During tax season, she worked at Charlie Dang Income Tax to bring in extra money and would prepare taxes. Before that, she worked as a cashier at restaurants. She enjoys people, loves working with money and overall is a happy individual. On the day of graduation, she accepted a full-time position with US Bank.