By UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Heading into their second semester of assisting FHSU students with financial planning, Tiger Money Mentors are gearing up to bring their expertise to more students.
Tiger Money Mentors, led by Dr. Christina Glenn, assistant professor of financial planning, includes Trevyn Brown, Wakeeney, senior finance major; Lauren Wagner, Hays, junior management and pre-law major; Kaden Wren, Scott City, senior finance major; and Kale Wheeler, Scott City, sophomore finance major. The group was launched in the fall of 2023 after being awarded start-up funds from the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Grant by FHSU President Tisa Mason.
“The Tiger Money Mentors have been doing a great job educating students on the importance of budgeting,” Glenn said. “They are trained and educated on other financial topics as well, such as debt management, student loans, credit reports, and helping students set up a financial plan to reach their particular financial goals.”
During the fall of 2023, Tiger Money Mentors had the opportunity to meet with several students who learned about their services either during classroom presentations or at events. According to Wheeler, one surprising thing the mentors have found is that the students they consulted with are even less well-versed financially than he had anticipated.
“Most of our meetings have been with freshmen, so they are going through a bunch of changes,” Wheeler said. “They are lacking in understanding of finances in general. Money is a tough thing to talk about. It’s a big issue. “
Tiger Money Mentors meet with students one-on-one to help answer questions about personal finances. They also provide group financial education to student organizations and classes on specific financial topics, such as budgeting, student loan debt, credit cards, evaluating job offers, and making a financial plan for college and beyond.
Although most of the students the group has mentored haven’t found themselves in financial trouble and have been primarily seeking education on managing their finances, Wren pointed out that some students simply don’t know where they are financially.
“They have no budget and didn’t know how much they were spending,” he said. “A lot of them were surprised to find out how much they were spending each month, saying they didn’t know it was anywhere close to that amount.”
Wagner said that one of the greatest benefits of their service is helping students understand how much money is coming in versus how much they are spending.
“This realization might push students to consider getting a part-time job while they are freshmen or sophomores when they have a lighter class load,” she said. “That way, they can save up over those easier years, so when they are juniors and seniors, they have more savings to fall back on in case they don’t have time to work a job.”
Overall, Tiger Money Mentors want students to know that budgeting and financial planning don’t necessarily need to be painful experiences. To that end, Brown said that he likes to keep his meetings with students casual.
“I build some rapport with them to start,” he said. “It puts them at ease. So, when we are doing the budget, we can have fun. You’re only in college once. It takes the stress off it when I can connect with them.”
“The biggest benefit of Tiger Money Mentors is that we are truly students for students. We don’t feel like we’re any better than them just because because we know finances. We understand. We were once freshmen too, not too long ago.”
Any FHSU, Hays Academy of Hair Design, or NCK Tech student can schedule an appointment with a mentor at https://www.fhsu.edu/tiger-money-mentors/