Akhil Bettadapura (Left) and Riley Farnsworth-Livingston (Right)

Bank of America Student Leaders in Final Week at Habitat Omaha

For the past five weeks, Habitat Omaha has hosted Student Leaders Akhil Bettadapura and Riley Farnsworth-Livingston as part of the 2026 Bank of America Student Leaders® program. 

The program advances employment opportunities by connecting 300 community-minded students to employment, skills development and service across the country. It helps create a pipeline of Student Leaders® to be successful in the world. Both Habitat Omaha Student Leaders are from Omaha, and while Riley attends the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Akhil attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

“Through Student Leaders®, we are helping prepare the next generation of leaders by providing meaningful work experiences, leadership development opportunities and exposure to the nonprofit sector,” said Craig Korkow, President, Bank of America Omaha. “The program enables students to gain insight into the issues affecting their communities while developing skills that will help them succeed in school, their careers, and as future civic leaders. We believe investing in young people today helps create stronger communities tomorrow.” 

Akhil first heard about the Student Leaders® program in high school, back when the program was for high school juniors and seniors.  

Akhil Bettadapura

“Last semester, I was looking through my university’s Handshake page and saw a posting for the program,” he said. “Upon learning that the program had been changed to cater towards college freshman, it was a no-brainer for me to apply. While applying to the Student Leaders® program, I was eager to gain more exposure to the nonprofit space, as I had been interested in potentially seeking a career in nonprofit/social impact consulting.” 

Riley added, “I heard about the program when I was looking for internships on my school career network. Bank of America messaged me about this opportunity, and it looked interesting, so I applied. What I hoped to gain from the program were new Omaha connections and a chance to learn some new skills. I was very happy with Habitat’s determination to make sure that I worked on a project that was meaningful and important to me.” 

Habitat for Humanity of Omaha taught them about the mission, vision, and values of the organization. Habitat Omaha has also given them a well-rounded look at our operations including board leadership, executive leadership, fundraising/development/budgeting, volunteer engagement and program execution. Those day-to-day activities also included job shadowing, attending staff meetings, interactions with senior staff, information sessions and specific projects or activities to develop leadership skills.  

“Our partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Omaha demonstrates the power of collaboration in advancing economic mobility and strengthening communities,” Korkow added. “Through the Student Leaders® program, Habitat provides students with meaningful, hands-on experiences that enable them to see firsthand how nonprofit organizations create impact and address critical community needs. Together, we are proud to support the important work Habitat is doing across our community while helping inspire and develop the next generation of leaders who will help shape Omaha’s future.”   

Riley Farnsworth-Livingston

Riley said, “I got to meet some incredible people, do work to help them in their roles, and get hands-on experience building a home for Habitat!”

Akhil added that the program has provided him with memorable experiences and allowed him to gain several new skills. At the Student Leaders Conference (that took place in Charlotte prior to coming to Omaha), he made numerous amazing connections with peers that he’s still in touch with today. He also walked out with a much better understanding of the relationship between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, along with inspiration from highly successful leaders across Bank of America and its partners.  

“While at Habitat, I have had the opportunity to gain a holistic perspective on all of Habitat’s operations through my meetings with members and leadership from each department,” he said. “I’ve also had the chance to complete a few mini projects, allowing me to improve technical skills such as proficiency in Excel. Overall, the program has fueled my existing passion for the nonprofit space, and especially Habitat Omaha.” 

Both mentioned how the departments at Habitat Omaha work together seamlessly to move the mission forward daily, which eventually leads to the bell ringing by the homeowner to celebrate all of the togetherness. 

They also both feel the important work at the core of the nonprofit space. 

“I believe that working with a nonprofit organization is important because the mission is truly at the center of every decision that is being made,” Akhil said. “At Habitat, one of the first things I noticed is the genuine passion that each employee has towards our mission of expanding homeownership. It is clear that everyone is working towards a common goal, which makes it simple for us to tie our individual and personal goals with organizational goals. A great example of this is the Home closings, when each employee comes out to congratulate the new homeowner. The feeling of directly contributed towards helping a family achieve their lifelong dream is priceless.” 

While Riley said that working at a nonprofit has always been important to her because of the crucial work being done to help feel connected to the work. 

“Instead of feeling like I have to work there, I feel as if I get to work there and help people,” she said. 

Riley worked out of the comms area during her time with Habitat Omaha. 

“I worked with Ryan (Overfield) and the Communications department to generate some error reports on Habitat’s job entries,” she said. “I learned how to use a software completely unfamiliar to me as well as the ins and outs of Habitat’s data to make my reports neat and informative.” 

As for Akhil, he worked out of the development team area. 

“My main project consists of analyzing Habitat’s corporate partnerships across 4 key areas: philanthropy; brand/marketing; economic/industry; and volunteerism/engagement,” he said. “I researched this through meetings with internal members and corporate partners, along with data analysis and secondary research. This project will conclude with a capstone presentation which I’m currently working on, which will consist of my suggestions to grow Habitat’s corporate partnership strategy. In addition, I have completed a couple of mini projects, such as compiling a list of corporate partners to solicit Brew Haha event sponsorship and gathering data to include in the 2025 lender partnership report.” 

A Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Library Science major, Riley is also part of the Honors Program at UNO, a Regents Scholarship Recipient and when she graduates, she plans to use her double major to work in a library or do more data science work. Akhil is pursuing Bachelor of Science majors in Business Administration and Data Science as well as an Economics minor after being part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in high school. He plans to pursue a career in social impact consulting and applying his business background towards creating lasting and meaningful change, while gaining exposure to a wide variety of industries and spaces. 

We are so glad to have them at Habitat Omaha and wish them continued success as they build their careers! Be sure to wish them well at the All-Staff Retreat at Topgolf!