Students learn financial essentials at PSECU fair.
Kimberly Miller (left), Baleigh Gray and Katie Uhlman review monthly food budget options during the PSECU Financial Reality Fair in the Performance Center.
“This is eye-opening.”
That comment, from senior communications major Baleigh Gray, summed up the experience of more than 70 participants at the Financial Reality Fair on Oct. 23.
The event, held at the Performance Center in the Natali Student Center, was sponsored by PSECU, the state’s largest credit union.
David Misner, PSECU’s corporate communications strategist, emphasized that providing financial education opportunities is a very important goal of the credit union, which has operated at Cal U since 2002.
This was the seventh financial fair PSECU has held on college campuses throughout the commonwealth.
“It’s so timely reaching out to college students because they are about to launch their careers and probably step out for the first time in their lives,” Misner said.
“This fair is an excellent simulation that prepares and helps students understand, manage and balance the financial environment they’ll be entering.”
Students received a budgeting worksheet with salary information based on intended career and level of education.
They then visited a series of booths to learn about and make choices pertaining to living expenses, from entertainment to insurance.
To end the activity with a balanced budget, students revisited each booth as many times as needed and met with financial counselors afterward.
Volunteers from PSECU and Cal U worked the various booths, which pleased Terry Wigle, associate dean for Student Affairs.
“This great opportunity for our students is one of the advantages of having PSECU here on campus,” said Wigle, who helped coordinate the fair.
“They’ve been a wonderful partner in working with us to educate our students in terms of personal financial literacy.”
Staff members from the Career and Professional Development Center helped students realize their intended career starting salaries before getting their budget worksheets from PSECU volunteers.
“This was absolutely a perfect fit, and we were eager to be involved as soon as were approached this past summer about helping,” said Rhonda Gifford, director of the CPDC.
“It’s all about helping our students make informed decisions.”
Kimberly Miller, a junior studying childhood education, was making decisions but maintaining her humor as she left the food budget booth operated by Briana Hendriksen, marketing specialist at AVI Food Systems, and her student intern, Cal U graduating senior Tierney Iden.
“You have to budget for way more than you think, and I won’t be eating out,” she said with a smile.
“Every student should do this,” Gray said.
“As you go from booth to booth, you run into more expenses than you ever imagined that take up all your money and really make you think hard about decisions you have to make.”