Annandale High School students who work at the student run credit union there, from left to right: Edwin Munoz, Doreen Tetteh, Tony Nguyen, Sergio Martinez, Dominic Maier, Monica Bentley (business teacher and faculty liaison), Issac Kebede. Photo contributed
As the National College Athletic Association launches its annual national basketball tournament, students at more than two dozen Northern Virginia high schools kick off a March Madness of their own. Instead of scoring baskets, they are scrambling to sign up the most new members this month to their school’s student run federal credit union in a competition sponsored by Apple Federal Credit Union.
Students who work at an Apple-affiliated school credit union meet the relatively new Virginia financial literacy requirement passed in 2009. This year’s high school juniors are the first class required by law to take at least one course in economics and personal finance in order to graduate. The competition adds even more incentive: the student run credit union that open the most new accounts will win a trophy and $200 cash prize.
"The SRCU is run by advanced accounting students, who have been trained on handling the transactions so they run the show," says Monica Bentley, SRCU liaison and business teacher at Annandale High School. "The program teaches about saving and managing money. It’s an in-school tool for deposits and withdrawals."
Dominic Maier, an Annandale High School senior who is the SCRU marketing manager, says his strategy is to secure discount fast-food cards from restaurants students like, such as Chipotle and Firehouse Subs and offer them as incentive for participation.
"Apple wants to make financial literacy not only valuable but fun for the kids," says Apple Vice President Robert Sowell. "So the March Madness competition is a way to do that. "It allows students to be creative and come up with marketing/advertising plans. Their role at the credit union teaches financial management, people skills which can translate into real-world jobs."