University at Buffalo School of Management

18 Buffalo Business Autumn 2016 For high school students, the possi- bilities are endless. After graduation, they can study a vast array of fields in college, launch their careers immediately or enlist in the military. But which option will sup- port the lifestyle they want for themselves and their families? That was one lesson that School of Management undergraduate honors stu- dents taught this spring based on concepts presented in MoneySKILL, a free, online curriculum that teaches high school stu- dents basic money management skills. "We assigned each student a career and salary and asked the class to budget how much it would cost per year to live how they wanted, with a nice car, big house and vacations," says Ian Scaduto, BS '16, who is pursuing a career in finance. "It opened their eyes to the importance of saving and the disparity between how much people earn and how much things cost." The first cohort in the school's under- graduate honors program worked on the project during their last semester on cam- pus (see sidebar). Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah, clinical assistant professor of organization and human resources, divided the class into three groups and challenged each to devel- op and implement a program that reinforc- es MoneySKILL concepts for a local school or nonprofit. Scaduto's team visited Cleveland Hill High School in Cheektowaga, which has participated in MoneySKILL for the past six years. In addition to the salary and ca- reer exercise, the team discussed college fi- nancial aid and led an interactive game that covered savings accounts and investments like stocks and mutual funds. Robert Haley, a government and eco- nomics teacher at Cleveland Hill, says the program successfully helped his students understand these vital everyday financial concepts. In fact, Cleveland Hill senior Jo- seph Bienas won this year's MoneySKILL Mania competition against more than 900 students across the region. "Personal finance is one of the most important things we can teach our students to prepare them for a successful future," Haley says. "The UB students really helped my students connect to the information, and my students related to them better be- cause of their closeness in age." Another honors group incorporated MoneySKILL into an after-school program at Frederick Law Olmsted School in Buffalo. Over two sessions, the team taught bud- geting, credit, checks and insurance, and used real-life scenarios to demonstrate how medical expenses, job changes and other life events can impact financial security. "When you hear statistics about stu- dent loan and credit card debt in America, Dollars and Sense Honors students teach financial literacy One undergraduate honors team worked with Girl Scout leaders to introduce MoneySKILL into their existing pro- gramming. Clockwise from left: Matthew Ricotta, Jonathan Voyzey, Mahwish Khan, Willian Sueyasu, Shelby Wilde and Gabrielle (Qianhui) You. Photo: Tom Wolf Community Impact

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