Before 2023, our program held one event per semester that had an RSVP attrition rate of 60%. Ready to revitalize the Financial Literacy Program at William & Mary, I became coordinator with the mission to make financial literacy education accessible campus-wide. I began by enlisting the support of Professors Julie Agnew and Carl Tack, who have become central advisors for both our content and strategic expansion. We built from scratch financial literacy content complete with interactive Excel models that enable students to apply their learning. Coupled with awareness campaigns through Student Happenings, the Financial Aid Office, the Student Assembly, and many mailing lists, we’ve grown our campus presence exponentially. In a short year’s time, FLP is flourishing and presents 6 campus-wide presentations yearly with attendance tripling to filled lecture halls.
Our dedication has exceeded the expectations of the school, enabling us to expand our team from 5 to 8 educators whilst adding Emily Dumm as a second coordinator. Our additional firepower has allowed FLP to seek strategic partnerships across campus to increase our impact. We partnered this year with Student Transition Engagement Programs (STEP) to incorporate our content into incoming new student orientation programming. Our content will be added to the Tribe Guide, which is mandatory for 1,600+ incoming W&M students yearly. Moreover, we’ve established a Blackboard site that makes our content and past presentations readily available to all students. Interest in the program has significantly increased with the change in leadership; new initiatives with Tribe Athletics, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Gamma Phi Beta puts FLP in front of 700+ students!
FLP is now a thriving program that fills the financial literacy void at William & Mary. As for what’s next, we’re discussing with STEP creating a 4 year curriculum for students during the college and personal finance journey!