The Center for Undergraduate Excellence hosted a financial wellness workshop, Getting Ahead on the Job, on March 17 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The workshop helped students find a job after college and succeed. Students learned about cover letters, resumes, being competitive in the job market and managing a job’s benefits.

“It sounded interesting and I know I need to get ahead because I’m a procrastinator,” said Malkom Crider, a freshman biology major.

The Wednesday, March 16, workshop, Budgeting for Life After College, was canceled due to a scheduling conflict. Budgeting for Life After College was designed to help students manage money and afford current and future expenditures. It will be offered again on April 7, from 10:00-11 a.m.

“I want to learn how to manage my money, because if you don’t it could ruin future plans,” said Kurtis Reid, a senior computer science major, after attending a few past workshops.

Financial Wellness workshops are a part of the Student Success Series and are planned by the Bursar’s Office. Students, called Financial Wellness Champions, lead the workshops, which are designed to be interactive and bring financial awareness to campus. The champions are trained by the Bursar’s Office and students are used to provide a feeling of reliability among students.

“I love giving the workshops because it took me a long time to get ahold of my finances, and everyday I learn more about how to improve my financial wellbeing,” said Julia Kelley, a junior integrative studies major and the Financial Wellness Champion for this weeks Getting Ahead on the Job and Budgeting for Life After College. “I think there is a lack of personal finance education at universities, so giving the workshops helps me to spread the knowledge that has helped me so much.”

Spring 2016 is the first semester of Financial Wellness workshops and there will be two events each week. This semester is a test to determine the effectiveness and interest in the topics covered in the workshops. For Fall 2016 the Bursar’s Office is planning to have more workshops, and to change the workshops based off student feedback from each spring workshop.   

April is Financial Wellness Month and in addition to the twice a week Financial Wellness workshops the library will also be hosting events. The library is starting Financial Wellness Month by bringing in the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discuss identity theft on April 4, and ending with Living on a Budget in Kent on April 22. 

“All the workshops we do is really to just bring awareness of our students ability to really take control and manage their own wellness as it relates to finances, it’s going to make them more secure it’s going to empower them and they’re going to feel like they have control over something,” said Stina Olafsdottir, university bursar.

Julie Riedel is a student life reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].