New financial literacy program funded by $3 million donation
The Stinebaugh Family Financial Literacy program was recently announced, following a $3 million donation. The program will consist of a 1-credit hour course taught by financial advisor Mackenzie Kemp, in addition to workshops and mentorship opportunities.
Nicole Van Den Heuvel, the executive director of the Center for Career Development, said that although there are some financial literacy resources already available through the Student Success Initiatives, the course would be more detailed and offer hands-on guidance.
“This is going to be a very comprehensive course to help build a nuts and bolts personal financial plan,” Van Den Heuvel said. “Over the course of a whole semester, [students] will be building and learning building blocks to build on those financial concepts.”
The course will cover financial topics, including investing, tax management, budgeting, retirement planning, insurance and disaster planning. Kemp said she is emphasizing both the knowledge and practical application of financial literacy.
“I don’t want to just get up at the front of the class and say, ‘Here’s what a stock is’ and ‘Here’s what a bond is,’” Kemp said. “We will talk about that because it’s critical for people to know but we will take it multiple steps further. How do they work together? How do they work in conjunction to create a healthy portfolio? And what is the definition of a healthy portfolio for someone in ‘X’ situation?”
Bobby Stinebaugh said he funded the creation of the program due to his own financial literacy struggles after graduation.
“When I got out of medical school, I knew nothing about personal financial planning and made every mistake known to man during my career,” Stinebaugh said.
Stinebaugh said he hopes the program will educate other students to avoid making the same mistakes he did.
Kemp said the program plans to address typical economic pitfalls experienced by young adults.
“I’ve heard that my whole life, ‘It’s easy for people to start early,’” Kemp said. “What does that really mean? What does that look like? Do I need to save five dollars every day? Does that mean that I need to stop going to Starbucks? There’s all those analogies.”
Kemp, who said she is more of a “practice person” than a “theory person,” plans to use her Wall Street background and skills from being a financial planner to create unique, practicable plans for each student.
“By the end of the course, students will take away a living, breathing and deliverable financial plan that can help them make different decisions as their life’s circumstances change,” Kemp said.
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