Once at the White House, Runck and the other award winners from all over the country took part in a panel discussion of their work with Latino students in the West Wing of the White House. Runck said the experience left her feeling particularly proud of her credit union.

“I suppose I had always known it, but it wasn't until I actually arrived that I realized I was the only educator from the private sector being recognized,” she said, noting that the other nine winners had all come from public schools or other public educational efforts.

“I think it says a lot for New Mexico Educators that the credit union is so committed to this community effort that its work has been recognized,” Runck said.

That evening, Runck and the other winners attended a reception at the vice president's residence where they met Biden. President Obama also attended the event for a few moments.

“He couldn't stay very long, but he was there and that was special,” she said.

Runck and NMEFCU won the award for Runck's work developing the curriculum used for the Financial Services Career Exploration program, an option Albuquerque students have as part of the Running Start for Careers program.

Running Start for Careers allows high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to earn high school and community college credit through lessons in class and working in their field. Runck wrote the curriculum for the financial service course in the program and NMEFCU provided a job site for the internships. The credit union also employed 14 interns last year who worked across the credit union, from teller lines to marketing and human resources.

“We wanted to demonstrate that there is more to working in financial services or at a credit union than the teller lines,” Runck said. “Young people say they don't want to work in financial services because they don't want to be tellers. We want to show them there is more to it than that.”

“New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union is honored that Shana will receive this prestigious national honor for her work with the community and helping students pursue education and careers in the financial services industry,” Terry Laudick, CEO of New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union said. “The credit union has long been committed to the principles of education and community impact, and this work turns those commitments into reality.”