As a high school sophomore watching the COVID-19 pandemic unfold, finance sophomore Frankie Rose watched the news with her parents and learned about low financial literacy in the United States and its impact on students. I saw a story about. In response, she banded together with students from a New York high school to create the national nonprofit Financial Literacy Club.
Even after becoming a Longhorn, Rose recognized the needs of students and decided to expand the Financial Literacy Club to serve the UT community. The club, which became official last fall and expanded to Cornell, Emory, Loyola Marymount and Brown, is now dedicated to increasing students' personal finance knowledge through workshops, webinars and interactive programs. .
“I thought about my own personal experience,” Rose said. “I was never taught about personal finance in high school, and my high school didn't have a course like that.”
Wondering whether to continue targeting local high schools or focus on UT, Rose said after becoming a Longhorn, he surveyed more than 1,500 UT students and found that more than 96% of respondents were private More than 96% of respondents said they were interested in improving financial education, whereas less than 50% said they were interested in improving financial education. % agreed that there were resources on campus to do so.
“The survey results demonstrate the stark reality that there are not enough financial literacy resources at UT,” Rose said.
In addition to hosting workshops, Rose said the club is advocating for increasing the financial literacy education resources UT offers, from a mandatory personal finance curriculum to a financial literacy center.
“Our goal is not only to educate, but to advocate for (financial literacy) on a larger scale and get the funding, assistance, support (and) resources through UT to make that happen,” Rose said. said.
The club's advisor, Bruce Plug, an adjunct professor of economics, currently teaches one of the few financial literacy classes available to students.
“The club is much broader than the classes I teach,” Pflug said. “We have students from every discipline you can imagine.”
Kiki Jayne, the club's assistant vice president, said the members' majors range from radio, television and film to philosophy, and all study about five main topics: budgeting, bank accounts, loans, taxes and insurance.
“College students have a lot more money than they realize,” said Jayne, a second-year finance student. “Being able to learn common budgeting practices and how to invest your money will be beneficial now and in the future.”
Rose said the club is addressing inequities among students who are disproportionately affected by a lack of financial literacy education in their communities by providing personal finance education for everyone.
“By providing these resources, we can break the cycle of parents not knowing too much and not being able to share that information with their children,” Rose said.
Jain, who is also a founding member of UT's chapter, said that in addition to offering educational workshops, the club also hosts guest speakers and has been invited to speak in several residential buildings on West Campus. .
“It's important to spread that awareness to your colleagues,” Jain says. “Spread the knowledge you have, so you can be part of that movement, that change.”
