A group of students from Barry University are giving high school students the gift of financial literacy. Twice a month, the college kids lecture to a class at William Turner Technical High School in Miami.
"We want students to be able to comprehend what's going on in the economy, so you should be able to evaluate financial statements and understand what they mean, you should be able to budget, you should know what inflation, deflation, all of that is and how that effects your income," said Jasmine Sanchez, one of the Barry students in the program.
The teacher of the class at Turner Tech said she's elated her students are receiving these lessons from university students who are only a few years removed from high school.
"It is extremely important because it will affect them for the rest of their life," said teacher Velma Eason. "Historically, there wasn't any information that was really taught in school, they learned as they went through life, made the errors first and then learned after the fact."
This particular group of college students has special expertise to draw on when teaching the basics of investing to the high school kids. They're part of a program called SMIF, an acronym for Student Managed Investment Fund.
The SMIF members actually manage $300,000 of Barry University's money. They meet every week, researching stocks, bonds and securities to decide where to invest Barry's cash.
"There's no better learning experience than a student-managed investment fund like what we have here," said Michael Hanrahan, a junior at Barry and a SMIF member. "What we're looking to do is make money and enough to give back to future students here at Barry to give them a little extra scholarship money."
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Their professor said the SMIF students consistently outperform benchmarks on investment returns. They're earning good returns with the fund, and good will at Turner Tech.
"I think we have stumbled into a very sizable unmet community need in the area of financial literacy," said Barry University professor of economics Stephen Morrell, who said managing a fund in addition to teaching high school kids is a win-win situation for everyone.
"They get a sense of pride from interacting with younger people who are keen to learn about financial literacy, and I think that interaction and seeing the students grow in their knowledge of financial literacy is a big benefit to our students," Morrell said.
Despite their young age, the Barry students are making an impact. Or perhaps it's because of their youth. The high school kids can relate to them.
"I have the knowledge now that when I do get a credit card and I do need to build credit, I don't go blowing my money on stuff that I can't pay for and end up in debt," said Turner Tech student Diana Jean-Philippe, who said for the first time, she's managed to save part of her paycheck from Subway.
Classmate Tenesha Nezier said, "Since Barry's come, they've really taught us how to make sure that we know what's needed, and needs versus wants."
An investment in time by the Barry students is yielding a return in satisfaction.
"I really wish that all students could have the advantage of this type of program, where they have someone that's in the age range they can relate to that would share their experiences and help them understand these concepts," Eason said.
