Today@Sam Article
Center Promotes Financial Literacy Through Community Service
April 25, 2018
SHSU Media Contact: Hannah Haney
As part of an on-going effort to give back to the community, representatives from the Student Money Management Center at Sam Houston State University dedicated the entire month of April to promoting financial literacy education.
The SMMC and SHSU’s Beta Alpha Psi partnered with the City of Huntsville and Huntsville Independent School District to give presentations during Financial Literacy Month. Lupita Hernandez, program coordinator for SMMC, mentored over 80 hours of community service to accomplish this goal.
Hernandez worked with four graduate students, Alejandro Anazco V., Brent Hines, Brian Luttrull and Kathy Masey, from the College of Education to conduct story time at the Huntsville Public Library and the Huntsville Head Start Program. They read “Caps for Sale” and other age-appropriate stories as well as conducted arts and crafts sessions for the children.
“I participated in the story time at the Huntsville Public Library,” Hines said. “I think it is important to introduce financial literacy at a young age because it teaches kids how to be responsible and how to appreciate money and their things. It is also something that they will have to manage in their entire adult lives and it is better for them to be introduced now, then to lack the knowledge when they need it.”
In addition, 13 Beta Alpha Psi members, James Arnold, Zoey Bell, Hunter Clay, Melissa Dundon, Elizabeth Dover, Logan Ellis, Jacy Mathis, Morgan McKinney, Jayla Pickney, Preston Pierce and Jilliann Sullivan, presented a Financial Literacy Game Day to third grade students at Scott Johnson Elementary. They also developed learning centers to instruct Financial Literacy and math objectives to the students in order to better prepare them for the Math Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills examination.
“I think the Beta Alpha Psi students did a phenomenal job interacting with the third grade students. The third graders were very engaged in the workstation and they seemed to be having a really good time,” Hernandez said. They did a fantastic job of being professional, punctual and on task. Kudos to everyone that helped with this event.”
According to Hines, he enjoys volunteer work and plans to continue reading at the Huntsville Public Library.
“It is important to volunteer because it allows you to give back and have a positive impact on someone else's life in hopes that they will in-turn positively affect someone else.”
Though the goal was to encourage financial literacy, SMMC also sought to strengthen the relationship between SHSU and the community by building partnerships for the present and the future.
“Our students thoroughly enjoyed working with the SHSU students. In fact, several have said they want to go there,” Brenda Moss, third grade Mathematics teacher at Scott Johnson Elementary said. “They are providing wonderful opportunities for our children.”
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