Sorting through a hundred or so applications from University ofMissouri students to fill five internship spots at Tigers CreditUnion has become a common occurrence for Laura Kogut, programdirector.

Since positioning itself as the banking alternative on campusand enlisting its 15 to 20 student staffers as advocates, studentshave been buzzing about the Columbia, Mo.-based branch.

“We realized that in order to reach the younger demographic, wecouldn't just do the typical avenues of radio or billboards,” saidKogut. “What we've found most effective has really been thatpeer-to-peer communication. Let's face it. banking doesn't come uptoo often in conversation. So our advocates just talk with friendsand other people on campus about their experience interning hereand how much fun it is. It's an effective way to spread the wordbecause then it becomes 'Oh, a guy in my dorm works at Tigers.'It's how we've been getting our most solid student referrals.”