SECU Reaches out to Nearly 12,500 Students During Students@Work Week!
March 15 2012 - 11:51AM
Business Wire
Students@Work Week, held February 27th- March 2nd, provided
State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) an excellent opportunity to
reach North Carolina students with financial education concepts,
using fun and diverse approaches to real life. In addition to its
career presentation, SECU featured a “Students@Work Real World”
activity for youth, reaching nearly 12,500 middle school students
statewide during the week, surpassing last year’s number by nearly
a thousand.
Pictured with Carroll Middle School
students are: McKinley Wooten - SECU Board of Directors Chairman
(far left), Teacher- Pam Goodman (second row left), and Howard Lee
- former N.C. State Senator (back row center) (Photo: Business
Wire)
On March 2nd, SECU Raleigh Six Forks Road branch Vice President
Stacey Waddell and staff hosted eighth grade students from Carroll
Middle School for a branch tour and opportunity to experience the
“Real World” activity. Also on hand to welcome the students were
SECU Board of Directors Chairman McKinley Wooten and former North
Carolina State Senator and previous Chairman of the State Board of
Education, Howard Lee. Mr. Wooten opened the discussion by engaging
the students with questions about the Credit Union. And during his
conversation with students, Mr. Lee said, “When I look into your
eyes, I see the future. A future governor, Mayor of Raleigh, a
teacher, a scientist who discovers a cure for a disease, a great
financier. Through your experience today at State Employees’ Credit
Union you will learn how things work. Everything you are exposed to
is relevant to you. To succeed in life, take advantage of all
educational opportunities and learn as much as you can – never stop
learning!”
The Credit Union’s “Students@Work Real World” exercise was a big
hit with the students! The activity guided students through the
steps of budgeting and making lifestyle choices based on a real
life scenario, including an occupation, education level, net
monthly income, and an individual or family status. Students
learned about employer paycheck deductions to understand net income
and are given a checkbook register to record monthly expenses such
as childcare, food, utilities, and cell phone. After making
decisions on housing and transportation expenses, students
completed the Real World activity by choosing a CHANCE card with
information to either deduct an unexpected expense or add
additional income to their checkbook register. The goal of this
activity was for students to have funds available at the end of the
month – seeing firsthand the impact of their lifestyle choices, and
to realize the importance of education in pursuing a career to
sustain their lifestyle.
Carroll Middle School students Jocelyn Ash and Mariana Obando
commented, “We enjoyed hearing Mr. Lee talk about how much he
didn’t like math as a student, but was still able to do well. The
‘Students@Work Real World’ activity was really cool. We enjoyed the
tour of the branch and getting to watch the tellers in a real
situation.” Teacher Pam Goodman added, “The Students@Work program
is a wonderful way to show students the importance of staying in
school. The activities in which the students participated were fun
and allowed them to apply their knowledge by making wise life
choices. I was very happy to have been a part of the program.”
About SECU
SECU is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its
members. SECU has been providing the employees of the State of
North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services
for nearly 75 years. Currently serving over 1.7 million members,
SECU provides services through 240 branch offices, nearly 1,100
ATMs, 24/7 Contact Centers and a website, www.ncsecu.org.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50205585&lang=en