Events
Financial Education Initiative Celebrates Inaugural Campaign
RALEIGH, N.C. (April 26, 2013) - The SunTrust Center for Financial Education at Wake Tech is celebrating the success of its inaugural campaign to improve financial literacy. Today’s celebration, in the Student Services Building on Wake Tech’s main campus, included students, college faculty and administrators, and the community. The center was established this spring to help students learn about financial management, avoid debt, and make sound financial decisions for a more promising future.
John Saparilas, Wake Tech’s Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management, says the campaign and the center have been tremendously successful – and adds that there are big plans for the future. “Student debt is soaring,” Saparilas says, “and this program is helping students, staff, and members of the community learn how to manage money. It really is changing lives.”
Wake Tech student Brenda Ginger is grateful for what the campaign has taught her: “Learning ways to save money has been a huge blessing,” Ginger says. “I have changed my spending habits, and now I’m even planning for retirement!”
The celebration included an award presentation as well as prizes for students who participated in a fun financial scavenger hunt and a stock market challenge. Wake Tech and SunTrust were recognized with leadership awards from the National Financial Educators Council.
Wake Tech partnered with the council on the initiative, which was designed to serve a diverse student body. It employed multiple touch points, contests, campus promotions, and modern marketing techniques to maximize campaign benefits. The empirical data gathered at each phase creates a best practices model that other universities, colleges, and organizations can replicate. The SunTrust Foundation committed $35,000 to the center, which includes financial empowerment workshops and special events for students throughout the year.
