HBCU Student Shares His Journey to Financial Success and Building Generational Wealth with New Financial Literacy Certificate
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Posted By: Reginald Culpepper on October 18, 2024 WHAT: Ethelbert Chukwubuikem Anum is a 24-year-old graduate student at Talladega College in Alabama. He is also one of the first HBCU students across the country to complete the newly released “Mind Over Money Skills” financial literacy certification. As a Student Ambassador forSFEPD, he now wants to help more college students build generational wealth. “The 'Mind Over Money Skills' certificate program benefited me greatly because it provided me with in-depth explanations of topics, such as insurance, estate planning, and homeownership, that I was not previously familiar with. Most college students are not thinking about insurance at this age. The most they know about insurance might be in relation to their cars. The insurance module illustrated to me how insurance is a risk management tool. I learned how insurance covers cars, homes, and most importantly a life.” The Society for Financial Education & Professional Development (SFEPD) launched its first-ever certification program called – Mind Over Money Skills in August. The eight-part Financial Literacy program is designed to equip college students, particularly at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed financial decisions and grow wealth. Each student who completes the course will receive a digital credential from Credly, the industry-standard credential management platform which enhances HBCUs ability to meet their financial literacy accreditation requirements. The certification’s pilot program launched in partnership with Hampton University in 2024, and has been considered a success. “I honestly never put much thought into homeownership versus renting somewhere to live,” said Anum. “I always felt like just having a place to call your own was enough. But, the homeownership module really opened my eyes on the importance of buying a home versus renting. You can spend a lot of money renting a place that you will never own while that money could be placed into a house that is under your name and can one day be called yours. This module definitely motivated me to put buying a home on my vision board as a goal that I want to achieve in the future.” “When we’re young, we’re told we have time to recover from bad financial decisions. But we don’t have to make those bad decisions in the first place if we know better. Financial literacy is invaluable because it helps people like me achieve wealth, be financially secure, and have a peace of mind. We can take control of our livelihoods by learning about financial literacy and paving a better financial future for ourselves and the people we love,” said Anum. WHY: According to a recent report by the Urban Institute, white households in America have an average of $1 million more in wealth than Black and Hispanic households – and the gap continues to grow. SFEPD believes that teaching young students most impacted by this inequity how to make smart decisions with money to shape their financial health and stability is a powerful way to change this. WHO: For 25 years, SFEPD has taught financial skills to people of all ages and backgrounds with a focus on underserved communities and HBCU students. WHERE: Online at https://sfepd.org/flc/ About the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development: For nearly 25 years, SFEPD, based in the Washington, D.C. area, has served as an award-winning financial literacy and professional development nonprofit teaching financial skills to people of all ages and backgrounds with a focus on underserved communities. SFEPD is directed by President and Founder Ted Daniels, a global financial literacy leader. Learn more at www.sfepd.org. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Reginald Culpepper
President, Fulfillment and Web Services, HBCUCONNECT Clark Atlanta University class of 1998 Member Since September 2000 |
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