Creating a Financially Sound Future for Local Students

Studies find half of all US adults are financially illiterate

Whether high school students plan on attending college to continue their education, enter the workforce or serve in the armed forces, it is vital that they know how to manage their finances. With the help of SVSU’s new Financial Literacy Program, a featured Oppor2nity Days 2025 priority, local high schoolers are entering the world with the tools they need to be financially responsible.

For the past eight years, the TIIA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index has found that half of all US adults are financially illiterate.¹ This lack of financial literacy has led to inadequate financial planning and high-cost borrowing for many people.² To address the far-reaching consequences of this staggering statistic, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bipartisan bill, HB 5190, on June 16, 2022, requiring that every student takes a half-credit financial literacy course in order to graduate from a Michigan high school.³

Through the Financial Literacy Program, SVSU has been helping schools in the region meet these new curriculum requirements while also providing mentorship experiences for SVSU students. By using a nationally recognized curriculum, SVSU students undergo rigorous training in financial health and teaching methodologies before leading financial literacy lessons for local middle and high school students. Students learn how to manage a budget, use credit wisely, invest, and prepare for emergencies and retirement through online modules and hands-on exercises. This program, spanning nine weeks for middle school and 19 weeks for high school, has already reached over 600 students in the two years of the program’s existence.  

SVSU students selected to participate in this program gain experience in mentorship, public speaking, time management and organization, all of which are soft skills that employers look for in candidates. On top of that, they also earn a stipend for the seven to 10 hours per week they spend prepping, commuting and mentoring students. Past SVSU students say this program has had a profound impact on them.

Emma Boyer, an accounting major at SVSU, said, “Being a mentor has impacted me in many ways. It has taught me to balance coursework, lesson planning and teaching. . . .  "I am so grateful to be part of this program.”

So far, four schools have partnered with the Financial Literacy Program: Bay Arenac ISD, Handy Middle School, Western High School and Carrollton High School. The long-term goal of this program is to partner with more schools and reach 1,000 students per academic year.

The Financial Literacy Program is building the foundation for a financially sound future for the local community. By working directly with local schools, SVSU students are making a remarkable difference that will leave a lasting, positive impact for years to come.  

If you would like to support this transformational program, it’s not too late!
Give at SVSU.edu/give.