April 17, 2024
St. John’s University welcomed more than 800 high school students to the Queens, NY, campus on March 28 for its first-ever Campus Coin Invest Fest, a unique program designed to promote financial literacy among high school students.
During the engaging event, students from schools in the Queens South High Schools district had the opportunity to network; learn from successful entrepreneurs; engage in practical, finance-themed workshops; and even pitch business ideas in a Shark Tank-like competition for a chance to win real start-up funds for their companies.
“Financial literacy education, particularly when supported by partnerships with the financial sector, has a profound impact on students from low socioeconomic communities,” said Tina Souverain-Weekes, Director, St. John’s University College Bound: Liberty Partnerships Program, which was responsible for the organization and management of the event. “These students often face greater financial challenges and disparities, making financial education even more crucial for their future well-being.”
The St. John’s Liberty Partnerships Program supports secondary education student success through mentorship and tutoring for the last 35 years. Queens South High Schools is a secondary school district that serves 20,000 high school students near John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Rockaways, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
Liberty Partnerships collaborated with the New York City Department of Education and financial institutions including Bank of America and Carver Federal Savings Bank. Representatives from both banks were happy to answer questions from the students.
“The earlier we can talk about financial literacy and promote better money habits, the better it is for all students,” said Arthur Erenburg, Vice President and Consumer Banking Market Leader, Eastern Queens Market at Bank of America.
The morning began with an introductory session in Marillac Hall Auditorium led by actor and entrepreneur Malik Yoba, who prepared the students for a day filled with learning opportunities. He reminded them to be present, stay in the moment, and learn something new from each presenter.
Among the presenters was Damon Dash, aka Dame Dash. The musical entrepreneur and co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records talked about how through determination and hard work he overcame struggles he faced when he was young.
He encouraged all students with an entrepreneurial spirit to pursue their passions and visualize their goals. “Because if you visualize it, it can happen,” Mr. Dash said.
Students later split into smaller groups to attend financial workshops. A peek into one of those sessions revealed what new financial themes were capturing their attention. Andrew Borts, Multi-Asset Portfolio Manager at the investment bank Morgan Stanley, moderated a workshop, “Investing and Trading: Introduction to the Stock Market and Investment Strategies,” where students learned basic ideas behind investing.
“I’m just trying to expose them early and help them build wealth throughout their lives,” Mr. Borts said.
After lunch, students returned to the auditorium for the final round of the Shark Tank-like business pitch competition. The winning team was a group of students from Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School, who presented an idea for a “cooling hijab”—an adjusted version of the traditional hijab with enhanced ventilation to help women more comfortably wear it in warmer climates.
“We decided that this would be the perfect idea to help women worldwide,” team member Nahin Loha, 16, said.
The Queens Gateway team attended the Campus Coin Invest Fest with mentor and economics teacher Robert Trialonas, who said the event was a rare opportunity for students to present pitches to entrepreneurs. “It’s a real connection that brings learning to them and builds ownership in their learning,” Mr. Trialonas said.
Another mentor, Natasha Anderson from Victory Collegiate High School, emphasized the importance of ensuring that education stays current so students are equipped with diverse skills. “Sometimes they have no idea how they can connect to their dreams and vision of entrepreneurship,” she said. Creating a supportive learning environment is one of the primary ways educators can help students find a path to success, Ms. Anderson added.
Helping high school students realize their potential is just the first step of the process. Providing them with opportunities to practice those skills in a real-life setting comes next. For that reason, Tammy Pate, Ed.D., Deputy Chief Officer and Senior Executive Director for Business Development at the New York City Department of Education, and her team are developing a junior vendor program that enables student-run companies to partner with real New York City-based businesses and apprentice with them.
“This will allow students the opportunity to build their own business portfolio—not in hypotheticals, but real deals,” Dr. Pate explained.
Such programs, including financial literacy events like Campus Coin Invest, are keys to empowering underserved communities, providing young people with the necessary knowledge and skill sets to succeed more in life, organizers said.
“I believe Liberty Partners’ mission to empower our students and families with financial literacy fits hand-and-hand with the mission of St. John’s, which was founded by the Vincentian community and whose challenge was to establish a school for immigrants and first-generation Americans and their sons and daughters,” Ms. Souverain-Weekes explained.
Jaylon Blair, 16, from Brooklyn, NY, who attends the High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety, advised students who did not participate in the event to try to do so next year.
“Sometimes we’re scared to take the next step or prefer the easier route and just take what’s more comfortable for us,” Jaylon, 16, said. “When we see things like exams and years of school and tuition, we get shaky and scared, but sometimes we just need representatives who have been through the process themselves to inspire us.”