Financial Literacy Night, an information session hosted by the National Business Honor society (NBHS), was held after school on Nov. 21 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The event’s return was delayed for a few years due to various logistical complications.
IB Business Management teacher and NBHS adviser Shane Kellogg explained the collaborative planning that went into the event.
“We had to coordinate with the school to be able to get building use outside of school hours,” he said. “We also had to coordinate with our business partner, Apple Federal Credit Union, to be able to get representatives to come on their own time to facilitate the Financial Literacy Night.”
NBHS President senior Sydney Chu, shared her feelings regarding attendance leading up to the event.
“I was really nervous about the turnout being low,” she said. “But there were more than 30 people that came out. I was really excited about how many people were eager to learn, and took the time out of their day to come out to the event.”
The Financial Literacy Night hosted two speakers from Apple Federal Credit Union, Senior Community Engagement Liaison Amanda Andrade and Senior Assistant Branch Manager Matthew Landerer, to provide informative materials and lead a discussion on a variety of financial subjects with the attendees.
“Amanda has come in a few times and it has always been a pleasure listening to her presentations because of how knowledgeable she is,” Chu said. “Matt as well, though it being my first time meeting him, was very nice and definitely knew what he was talking about.”
Chu expressed her satisfaction with the presenters and their engagement.
“I thought they did an amazing job preparing materials for high school students as well as how they carried out the presentation,” she said.
Kellogg emphasized the benefits of holding Financial Literacy nights for students and their futures.
“Something like this really offers an extension of learning outside of the classroom, and also allows us to dig into a concept that’s not necessarily taught strictly in the curriculum, but something that’s extremely relevant to students outside of school,” he said. “[It’s important] especially post high school, whether they’re entering the workforce or going to college and then getting jobs after.”
Looking towards her and other classmate’s futures, Chu agreed.
“Even though we don’t learn about it in classrooms or textbooks, we still need these life skills once we complete high school and even as we begin to manage our own finances,” she said.
Chu mentioned plans she has for continuing to host guest speakers in future events and her appreciation for the effect of NBHS on the community.
“It’s a really great honors society that benefits the members directly through enriching opportunities, but also those who aren’t directly involved,” she said.
Kellogg shared his hopes for future Financial Literacy Nights.
“I hope that this becomes more consistent each year, I’d like to hold one every two months in the year and have it be consistent with different businesses, but also have a greater reach to the Marshall community,” he said. “We have a lot of groups that are underserved in our own school and community that could benefit from presentations like this.
Chu agreed and hopes the turnout continues to increase.
“I think it would be really cool to see more people who are not in NBHS and also parents join us,” Chu said.