The Student Money Management Center will host its 11th Annual Financial Literacy Week Feb. 18-21 in the Lowman Student Center.
A $250 scholarship will be awarded, and free pizza and drinks will be provided on a first come first served basis at the 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. events.
“It’s my biggest event throughout the year, and I say event as if it is one thing, but it is actually 12 events happening in one week,” Program Coordinator for the Student Money Management Center Haley Rothrock said.
The theme of the week is “Guiding Your Finances” using gameshows, and all students are invited to attend the events occurring each of the four days. There is a workshop each morning from 9:30–11:30 a.m. in College of Humanities and Social Sciences room 130 to help students with financial aid, FAFSA and TAFSA applications. Then there will be two gameshow themed events at 5:30–6:30 p.m. and 7–8 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Theater.
“One of the things that is new this year that I am excited about is our Family Feud contest that is specifically geared toward clubs, organizations, fraternities, sororities and any registered organization on campus,” Rothrock said. “They have five contestants each, are competing against each other, and the top four organizations are going to be given financial prizes.”
Teams that made it to the qualifying rounds were told the subjects for the questions could be budgeting, credit, information from the Student Money Management Center website and maybe even a few general Sam Houston State University questions, according to Rothrock.
“We have already been holding qualifying rounds,” Rothrock said. “We had 12 organizations register to play Family Feud. The semi-finals are Monday at 7 p.m. in the LSC Ballroom, two games will be played, the game between teams A and B, and the game between teams C and D. That will get us our two finalists. Our two final teams will play on Thursday.”
These events are not just about games and prizes. The goal is to create awareness of the Student Money Management Center as well as the services they offer.
Annie Sherman and Julie Knight, owners of Huntsville’s The Best Box Ever Bakery will share their personal experiences in opening a business on Tuesday. Natalie Torres, author of “Financially Savvy in 20 Minutes” will speak on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Torres will discuss the importance of setting a personal budget in order to create financial wellness.
“She did a TED talk and I thought she would be perfect for Financial Literacy Week,” Rothrock said. “Throughout the year I’m always looking for speakers and I’m always keeping my eyes and ears open through social media, the news, books, blogs and things like that.”
Financial Literacy Week is designed to encourage students to educate themselves on financial matters and to visit the Student Money Management Center for one-on-one consultations.
For more information on Financial Literacy Week, and a list of events, visit the Student Money Management Website at shsu.edu/dept/smmc.
