To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria:

• The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year
• The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic excellence, and passion for the subject. 

We'll showcase 2 students per week who will also share how they benefited from having a personal finance education in high school.

Congratulations this week go to:

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Student: Tristan Bailey

Teacher: Joey Running

School: West Albany High School (Albany, OR)

"The value of a personal finance class is that I get to learn about what is ahead of me after I graduate high school. I have already started saving money for my future self. Being able to learn this has made me realize that you will need money to live in this world By taking personal finance I know how to effectively use my money and how to save it."

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Student: Bryanna Rawnsley

Teacher: Joy Tavano

School: North Kingston Senior High School (North Kingstown, RI)

"I decided that because of this class, I wanted to save up money and plan for my own vacation with my friends over the summer. This class has prepared me to save the money I need by knowing the difference between a need and a want. I set up a savings account and have been taking money out of my paycheck every week and depositing it into my savings account. Without this class, I would have never gotten the confidence to start my own savings account for not only my trip but for college as well."

About the Author

Laura Matchett

After graduating with an education degree and spending 7 years in an elementary classroom, Laura made the switch to the non-profit world and loves interacting with students, educators and business professionals across the country. She is passionate about all students having access to high quality education and views personal finance education as one way to ‘level the playing field’. When Laura is not locating or creating high quality educational resources, you can find her mountain biking or searching for the best ramen in town!