The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
4EVER TEXAS & UFCU provided intentional financial education for 400+ Longhorns
12.18.2024 | Student Services
Workshops provided over 400 student-athletes with the tools and knowledge to make more informed financial decisions.
"Empowering young adults financially means teaching them to not just earn money, but to manage it wisely, invest for their future, and understand that financial freedom is a choice they can make today, not just a distant dream."
During the Fall 2024 semester, Texas Athletics' 4EVER TEXAS Student-Athlete Development team worked with strategic financial education partner, UFCU to provide the Longhorns with Financial Empowerment workshops focused on budgeting/credit, investing/banking, and taxes.
Each workshop started with the question, "What is Financial Well Being?" and emphasize the concept across four key categories: spending, saving, borrowing, and planning. Each presenter explained how their topic connected to the ones shared in previous workshops.
During each workshop, moderators and presenters were particularly focused on incorporating real-life scenarios to make the lessons relatable to a variety of backgrounds, learning styles and experience levels. The UFCU team created more game-like simulations rather than a traditional lecture format. The games all included opportunities for the student-athletes to immediately recall and use newly gained financial knowledge to make decisions that impacted the game's outcome. There were also multiple moments of pause, for the presenters to explain terminology, answered questions, and encourage the student-athletes to try-on new strategies.
For the budgeting and credit workshop, the room was split into two teams with representatives tracking the credit score of each team. Student-athletes then read a scenario to consider and navigate. The responses each team provided determined whether money would be lost or gained after each round. At the end of the game, the winning teams were deemed "Credit Heroes" and given superhero masks as a highlight of the session.
The investing workshop included an interactive software program which allowed participants to each create an avatar that faced practical financial decisions that would impact measures of wealth and happiness. Decisions like, where to live, which career to pursue or, which investment options to select, were presented during the exercise. After the fifth round of decision-making, the results were ranked and a winner was chosen and discussed so participants could process the impact of their decisions on the final outcome.
The financial panel included a UFCU staff member who was a former student-athlete as well as a tax expert from Foundation Communities. The panel discussed various topics, including personal finance, banking, investments, and taxes. The students asked insightful questions, which further demonstrated their interest and understanding of the material. It was a rewarding experience to see students learning and remaining engaged throughout the entire process.
The overwhelmingly positive feedback from student-athletes, high levels of engagement, as well as the demand for additional sessions, confirms the success the Fall 2024 Financial Empowerment workshops. We provided over 400 student-athletes with the tools and knowledge to make more informed financial decisions. Extending the workshop timeframe, introducing interactive simulations and games, and offering personalized resources created a more engaging and effective learning environment that we look forward to continuing to build on next semester. It is a rewarding experience to empower student-athletes with financial decision-making skills that they need to thrive now and in the future.
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