Financial Literacy Program Trains CSP Students

With an increasing number of U.S. households living paycheck-to-paycheck, teens may not be learning the kind of money management lessons they need, developing a pattern of bad saving and spending habits that could have long-term consequences.

That growing problem was the basis for a program developed by Concordia Economics professor Dr. Bruce Corrie, and Mathematics professor Dr. Robert Krueger.

Thanks to a $70,000 grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Krueger and Corrie created a financial literacy curriculum to train CSP students as youth leaders who could then present the program to other college and high school students and community youth groups.

The program focuses on areas of finance that most often affect teens and young adults, such as managing loans and credit, budgeting money, the basics of investing and Christian stewardship.

The Thrivent grant provided internships during the 2006 spring semester for three CSP students to gather research materials and prepare training resources. During the fall 2006 semester, senior Mathematics major Monica McNamara assembled the actual curriculum pieces for the first training session.

Students enrolled in Krueger’s First Year Seminar were trained as presenters. Their first workshop, held on-campus in November 2006, attracted nearly 100 participants from the campus community.

Thrivent representatives Steve Pickel (’76) and Kevin Bonine (’75), who also are the Concordia Alumni Council president and former vice president, respectively, also attended to discuss financial management and Christian stewardship.

The students facilitated May workshops for Concordia Academy at both the Roseville and Bloomington campuses. For more information about the program or possible presentations, contact Dr. Rob Krueger at 651-641-8848 or rkrueger@csp.edu.

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