“This life changing experience has been one that has not only shaped our lives, but has given us the opportunity to make a difference in our community.”

Taylor Berger, Annie Myers, Charlotte Sundel

We are AACPS: Students, Severna Park High School

We began this project after seeing our friends, neighbors, and colleagues, who were excelling in rigorous course loads and overflowing extracurricular schedules, were not thinking at all about their finances. They spent recklessly, didn’t save, lacked a basic understanding of how the economy around them worked, and were altogether unprepared for life after high school, whether they were going to work, serve, or go on to further education. We wanted to combat the mindset that finances are something to be worried about later, and empower our peers to make the most of every penny that they earn. We thus decided to create www.gaininterest.org, a financial literacy website aimed at adolescents and young adults specifically, to provide the tools for students and graduates to begin their financial literacy education journey.

Our junior year, we competed in DECA’s Financial Literacy Promotion project, and ultimately placed second place in an international competition against approximately 184 teams with our website and high school promotional curriculum. After the conclusion of DECA, we decided that we wanted to continue this work, and thus decided to work with the Anne Arundel County Public School System as interns to further incorporate financial literacy into the education of our peers.

This year, we hosted the inaugural Financial Literacy Week at Severna Park High School. Our goal for the week was to provide both the motivation and the means for students to take control of their financial futures and it was largely a success. After a series of lunch room activities and assemblies, we have catalyzed a conversation about financial education among our peers. Next year our initiative will be carried on by a new team of interns, each of whom will bring their own ideas and excitement to the project.

This life changing experience has been one that has not only shaped our lives, but has given us the opportunity to make a difference in our community. We wanted to emphasize that it’s not about teaching high schoolers how to get another penny out of their bank accounts, but empowering young people to make the most of every penny that they earn.