At many schools, financial literacy comes in the form of learning the proper way to write a check and balance a checkbook. And, students who earn a paycheck often have to rely on parents to deposit their wages, and thus rarely fill out deposit slips or manage their money. But, banking at Calvert Hall is not just an exercise. The high school, in cooperation with First Financial Federal Credit Union, recently opened a student run branch where customers are able to make deposits, open new accounts, make limited cash withdrawals and receive general information about all of the credit union services.
The Cardinal Branch of First Financial Federal Credit Union celebrates its grand opening this week but, has been operational for several weeks. The Cardinal credit union is open mornings before school in an office space dedicated to the branch. The eight student interns who run the branch were required to interview for the position and were trained by the credit union. Two faculty advisors supervise students, and the Cardinal Branch operates in an off-line environment with final processing of transactions taking place at the main office of the First Financial Federal.
Currently, the Cardinal Branch, named for the Calvert Hall's mascot, serves the students, faculty and staff of the school, but as word gets out, the banking interns expect parents and others will also use it.
"The Cardinal Branch successfully provides a positive hands-on educational experience in financial literacy at a convenient location for its members," says faculty advisor Thomas Fan.
According to a press release issued by First Financial Federal Credit Union, in addition to teaching young adults how to manage their money, the student-run branch also provides valuable business experience for those considering a career in the financial industry. The Credit Union also works with high schools within their field of membership to teach classes on financial matters such as credit management, maintaining a checking account, understanding credit and debit cards and choosing a financial institution, to name a few.
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