Throughout high school, students learn lots of things to prepare them for the future, but they don’t always learn the most basic things like the in’s and out’s of banking and finance that could help them start a business or simply budget and save for the future.
Filling that gap is REGIONAL Federal Credit Union who is working with Lake and Porter County elementaries, middle schools, and high schools through their Student Credit Union Program. The program is helping to increase students financial literacy and REGIONAL’s Student Credit Union Director, Bobbie Escalante, spoke about the program and how it’s helping to educate thousands of region students.
“The ‘Student Credit Union Program’ started about 25 years ago in Portage and then branched out into schools in Hammond, Valpo, and other areas,” Escalante said. “We offer the program to any school that might be interested in Lake and Porter County and what we’re trying to do is to drive financial literacy for the students at the school, which is no longer a requirement for students.”
The Student Credit Union Program reached nearly 4,200 students last year. REGIONAL conducts programs and presentations within the classroom, such as their Insight Program which is a six week program from start to finish on financial literacy. They also conduct more specific presentations that are tailored to certain grade levels, from K-12, such as ‘The History of Money’ and ‘Who’s Face is on Your Money?’
“Our presentations are geared for K-12 so we have something specifically that would address kids who are younger, for kids in the middle, and then finally for the ones who need to start thinking about making their own financial decisions,” said Escalante.
“The Student Credit Union Program, once we started offering it in Hammond, changed a little in that we wanted to offer opportunities for students to work in the Credit Union,” said Escalante. “Students who are interested submit an application and we interview them, and the school administration assists us in determining which students would be a good fit.”
When approved, students give up part of their lunch period to go and work in the Student Credit Union where they build on their knowledge and acquire more banking and financial literacy. They learn how to do teller-type work, like how to do transactions, withdrawals, and how to balance what they’ve done after their lunch period.
“We’re also trying to have some fun with them and show them this is a good place to start their career,” Escalante said.
One former Portage High School student, and current REGIONAL FCU employee, who saw the Student Credit Union Program as a valuable tool that could help her reach her goal of becoming a business owner is Danielle Royton.
“I want to own a dance studio so I’m very interested in the business aspects of things and I figured what better way to learn that than to dive into banking and see how all of it works,” said Royton. “My favorite class in high school was business and entrepreneurship and the teacher was talking about the program and I said, ‘wait, what?! I want to do it!’ So my senior year, the first day I was in his classroom, I was signing up for it.”
“I didn’t have much of any experience before the program and once I started I learned a lot,” Royton said. “I kind of felt like I had that foot in the door and something to even put on applications. It broadened my horizons a lot just through the program.”
Irma Torres, Vice President of Branch Development & Business Banking at the Portage Branch, works with Royton daily and she spoke about how great it’s been to bring her in from the school program to the branch.
“We’re so proud of bringing Danielle on board,” Torres said. “It’s worked out wonderfully and we’re so glad we chose her to be a part of the team. It gives her an opportunity to start her career and plus with her starting in high school she’s on board with our culture and our mission. It sends a message to kids in schools with the program to take advantage and be involved.”
