Student Group Offers Online Financial Literacy Course

When the Covid-19 pandemic started during the spring of 2020, members of the UMass Amherst chapter of the Smart Woman Securities (SWS) organization, which focuses on women in the finance industry, decided to put together an online curriculum for community public school students called “Making Cents of Finance.”

“I put the curriculum together referencing the topics I wish I had known when I was in middle school,” says Abigail Varney ‘22, who spearheaded the project as president of SWS.

More than 50 middle school and high school students participated in the program both the first year and again during the spring semester of 2021, with most coming from the Amherst public school system, and Varney says about half of the students were girls.

“Despite being virtual, these classes were very useful to the students,” Varney says. “They were also very rewarding experiences for our members to give back to the community, educate young students on topics we are knowledgeable and passionate about, and home in on our teaching and presentation skills.

“As someone who wasn’t exposed to these topics until my junior and senior year of high school, this experience has solidified for me the necessity of engaging with students at all levels and exposing them to the vast realm of finance,” she adds.