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The 2010-2011 scholarship applications now available The Minnesota Family Involvement Council (FIC) has $11,000 available in scholarship money for Minnesota credit union members who are continuing their education! The FIC is offering two $1,000 scholarships and eighteen $500 scholarships to 20 credit union members throughout Minnesota. Any individual attending a college or university, graduate or law school, 2- or 4-year program or community or technical college in the fall of 2010/spring 2011 is eligible. Those interested in applying need to complete a one-page application form and submit a typed essay (up to 500 words in length) answering the question, “Credit unions were established in the U.S. 100 years ago, yet many Americans know nothing about them. As the manager of a credit union, what strategies would you employ to give credit unions a higher profile and help them grow?” Applicants are encouraged to research the topic using any sources available. The scholarship deadline is Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. The 20 scholarship recipients will be selected and announced in the spring of 2010. Scholarship promotion materials available for credit unions In order to assist in the promotion of the scholarship program to members, the Family Involvement Council has compiled information and resources for credit unions to reference. For complete scholarship information and links to the downloadable and online applications, visit the Scholarship Memo to Credit Unions page. Also the FIC has created promotional materials to help you publicize the scholarship program. The following resources are available for credit unions to download: * Sample web article * Web banner * MnFIC Scholarship Best Practices Also, credit unions are encouraged to put a link to the scholarship application on their web site. To link to the FICs online scholarship application use the following web address: Family Involvement Council Scholarship Application With questions about the FIC scholarship program, contact Bridget Moeller, MnFIC Vice Chair or Rachel Kuenzel, MnCUN Liaison to the FIC Feedback for Credit Unions: The MN FIC has compiled excerpts from 2009/2010 applicant essays for your review. Please click here to view. Traditional Scholarship Winners - 2009/2010 $1,000 Harvey Bakke Scholarship Winner: Maria Lendobeja, Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union $500 Scholarship Winners: Arthur Carlson, City-County Federal Credit Union Kristin Roberts, Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union Brittany Asanovich, Postal Credit Union Benjamin Streeter, TopLine Federal Credit Union Jessica Springer, Hiway Federal Credit Union Jordan Spatenka, Federated Employees Credit Union Shannon Goerke, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union Joshua Connell, Co-op Credit Union of Montevideo Kelsey Erickson, Hiway Federal Credit Union Emily Swenson, Greater Minnesota Credit Union Non-Traditional Scholarship Winners - 2009/2010 $1000 Harvey Bakke Scholarship Winner: Sara Sandwick, Hermantown Federal Credit Union $500 Scholarship Winners: Chelsea Craven, Great River Federal Credit Union Amy Garcia, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union Margaret Albrecht, Postal Credit Union William Tice, Postal Credit Union Stacy Edland, Accentra Credit Union Jena Gordon, Trustar Federal Credit Union Jeffrey Albright, Central Minnesota Federal Credit Union Stephanie Zastrow, City & County Credit Union Watch for information on the 2010 Scholarship Program coming this fall. |
Sara Sandwick "Drowning in Plastic" I'm drowning in plastic and why is that so? The basics of finance I never did know. I spent my allowance, no money I saved, On gimmicky gadgets and games that I craved. I never thought of tomorrow and what I might need Suggestions of saving I never did heed. I signed for those loans, in college I was set Never realized how deeply I was getting in debt. I just swiped my plastic whenever I chose, Never looked at my balances, how fast they rose. Now I have payments way over my head Their weight on my shoulders, huge lumps of lead. If I had been taught when I was in school How to manage my money, not act like a fool I could have saved at least part of the money I earned Made better decisions and not been so burned By outrageous interest on my cards that are daunting And balance totals that are definitely haunting. I gaze over my humiliating credit report And take the bus to my case in bankruptcy court. Today young Americans are more likely to file bankruptcy than earlier generations. Among young adult households with incomes below $50,000, one in five with credit card debt spends over 40 percent of their income to pay off debt, including mortgages and loans. As bank loans become tougher to get, many Americans use plastic for basic living expenses. Easy credit has led to easy spending beyond our means. Financial education starts with the basic knowledge to make informed financial decisions. Learning how to manage money early can influence student behavior. Children may learn from their families that saving is a good thing. Later they may be taught how to balance a checkbook and that more education provides more choices and more money in their future. Financial education in school can lead to financial education of parents who may never have learned the basics, a double benefit! If financial management is a high school graduation requirement, students will learn the basics, such as the difference between needs and wants, paying yourself first, paying off credit cards at the end of each cycle, and the importance of saving. Students graduating in states with financial education in their curriculum have higher savings, make sounder financial decisions and go on to invest more for retirement. In today's economy, most schools are stretched thin when it comes to budgeting for classroom materials. In order to add personal finance into a curriculum, text books would need to be adapted to adhere to state standards or class handouts printed for each student. This could be an additional burden to fund-strapped school districts and one of the very few "cons". Financial education will provide real-life skills to Minnesota graduates who can take charge of their own financial lives and make sound decisions to allow them security and independence. Investing in this fundamental education provides an investment for our economy and allows future generations to attain the American Dream. Maria Lendobeja Financial Education in Minnesota's High Schools In my four years of high school, I have taken my quota of science, calculus, composition, music, and history classes. I've managed to read the books, write the papers, and take the tests. My GPA is 4.0 and I have balanced studying with my part-time job and my full-time friendships. But, I've never balanced a checkbook, never paid any attention to a stock report, and never understood the first thing about insurance. I guess one could say I'm a financial dummy. As I've made my way through the rigors of high school, I've asked the same questions about every subject that the other kids were asking, "How am I ever going to use this? Do we really need to learn this?" Apparently I was going to use all of the concepts I managed to labor through. Could not the same thing have been said about financial education classes? Could Minnesota's students have been missing out on something they were all sure to use and even desperately need? Financial education offers students the tools to begin planning for their future. By not learning the basics of money management, many students overspend and end up with big debt and poor credit. It is important for young adults to learn how to manage their bank account on a limited paycheck. Numerous insurance decisions will be made throughout one's lifetime, starting with car insurance as a teen. Many people are unprepared for these important decisions. An argument could be made that parents should be teaching their sons and daughters in the ins and outs of financial management. However, many students won't learn this valuable skill at home because their parents are either too busy or ill prepared themselves. By taking financial education classes as a high school requirement, students will be guaranteed to enter the work-force with at least some economic savvy. There is clear evidence that teaching kids how to be financially responsible makes a world of sense. There are, however, complexities which challenge the concept of making such education an actual graduation requirement. It would be costly to hire staff, and these classes would compete for time within the school day with other requirements and electives. To be very effective, these classes would have to be taught at more than one level. For example, students take algebra to work into pre-calc and eventually calculus. The same would be true for learning the ins and outs of finance. As a creative alternative, school systems may consider the idea of integrating financial concepts into the curriculum of existing classes. For example, math students could learn about interest rates. Automotive students could learn about car insurance. History students could study the Great Depression. The case could be made that, despite the challenges, there is potentially great danger in not equipping Minnesota's high school students with the financial tools they will need as young adults. They are, after all, this country's future. Just as young people are asking questions, so are today's adults: "Would we be in the present financial crisis if our generation had been better prepared?" |
