The Student Money Management Center kicked off their seventh annual Financial Literacy Week with events beginning Monday in hopes of educating students on their personal finances.
Brynn Castro | The Houstonian
The events were planned to help students learn financial responsibility presenting them helpful money-saving tips.
The SMMC program coordinator, Andrea Rabon, said that the center was planning for these events for months in advance.
“Well we start planning months ahead of time,” Rabon said. “Usually by September or October we have already, you know, have schedules in place, we have talked to speakers, planned marketing. Our theme is ‘Don’t Just Survive, Thrive’ so, in our theme for Financial Literacy Week it is ‘Own It and Move Forward.’”
The week began with a FLW kick-off event in the Lowman Student Center Mall and quickly moved into the LSC Theatre with extreme couponing.
Rabon said yesterday was their biggest day with a speaker and events for students, such as a keynote address, a lecture on relationships and money, financial aid, and a FASFA Workshop. Donald Bowers II, assistant vice president of the Houston branch for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, talked to students about employment and other similar topics.
“He came and talked to students about employment contracts, just employment in general, the professional world…really good message,” Rabon said.
Rabon said students can relate to the topics which helped spark their interest in the events.
“Sometimes money is not the most fun thing to talk about,” Rabon Said. “We want to make sure that we are giving them more interesting topics like fun on a budget, Pinterest workshop, be your own boss…[those are] very popular.”
Apart from having events that will help students, they also provide a private luncheon for faculty, administration and guests. The luncheon is an event where people that have helped the SMMC are recognized.
“Usually for the luncheon, we invite everybody that has supported us,” Rabon said. “The professors where we have gone and taught their classes, they send their kids for extra credit.”
The SMMC also rewards students that go to multiple events throughout the week. Students receive a card, fill it out and have it stamped when they go to an event.
Once the student has attended four events, their name is entered in a drawing for a scholarship. Organizations on campus are also allowed to have groups of people go and can be rewarded for their attendance as well.
“We are offering three $650 scholarships,” Rabon said. “Students who attend four of our events can enter for that and they can enter multiple times. The top three organizations with the highest percentage of attendance get $1,000, $750, $500.”
Rabon hopes students will be able to take the information they learn at the events and apply it to the rest of their lives.
“I hope that they will take this financial knowledge and not only apply it to their lives now as students… but take it in the future and plan and be successful people just leaving the university just in general, own it and move forward,” Rabon said. “So, take responsibility of your finances, try to make good choices if you don’t make good choices pick up and keep going.”
According to Rabon, the events are cashing in a big crowd of students despite the weather and the attendance has been phenomenal.
Today is the last day of FLW and will wrap up with “Veterans and Finances” in the LSC Theater at 6 p.m.
For a full list of the remaining events visit the SMMC website at http://www.shsu.edu/ssmc.