Growing up, what kind of relationship did you have with money?

I didn’t have the best relationship with money growing up. I lived in a poverty stricken community. Where my people lived pay-check-to-pay check, including my family. No one knew about financial wealth and how to keep money or how to grow money.

What was it like to serve as an SFEPD Student Ambassador teaching your peers about personal finance, and what did you learn about yourself from this experience?

Serving as an SFEPD Student Ambassador is an honor. I felt very proud of not only myself and team members but my peers as well. It’s a wonderful feeling being able to teach my peers about being financially literate. What I learned about myself and others is we can do the work but we need the information. There are so many things that I have done that once I knew about, I completed. I can say the same about other students and that they get the work done once they get and understand the information. I enjoyed seeing my peers’ faces light up when I told them about the many opportunities that they could have.

What are the major benefits of students learning personal finance skills through seminars and classes during their college years?

The major benefit is time and opportunities. The earlier you learn about personal finance skills the earlier you can put it in to effect. It doesn’t take a lot to invest and save, so knowing about that as a college student, sets them up for the future.

When should students start learning basic concepts about personal finance (in elementary, middle school, high school, or college) and why?

I believe young people should start learning basic concepts about personal finance as soon as possible. Elementary would be a great place to start, since they would have no bad financial habits and it would be a clean plate.

If you could share one financial tip with college students, what would it be?

Start saving and investing as soon as possible. Even if it’s a dollar, always save something for yourself.

As a result of your Student Ambassador experience, what key lessons did you learn to help you manage your money better and is planning for your financial future an important goal after college?

One key lesson would be using my credit card safely and wisely. To pay off my credit cards on time and in full. That will help my credit score in the future. My financial future is in very important goal because I want to go to grad school and have my own business in the future.

How did serving as a Student Ambassador help you prepare for your future and your career goals?

I plan on having my own private practice being a midwife. Owning your own business is very tricky if you’re not careful. However, having the knowledge from SFEPD will help me get ahead when it comes to owning my own practice.