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: Ray Kovacsics

Teacher: Julius Prezelski

School: Mount Saint Joseph High School (Baltimore, MD)

"As a result of taking Personal Finance, I have become more money conscious. I learned how to grow my money, create a budget, and how to get out of debt. I have created a basic budget that I stick to by looking for deals and staying away from impulse purchases. Also, I have opened a savings account and am looking into opening a Roth IRA. Personal Finance has sparked my interest in business. As a result, I am involved with multiple business-oriented clubs and have participated in competitions."

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Student: Rrylee Downs

Teacher: Kathey Hatfield

School: Chiawana High School (Pasco, WA)

"My career goal after high school is to be an elementary teacher. I'm able to take a class called “Careers in Education" that provides me an opportunity to assist at our local elementary school. While working with the 3rd graders and completing my own personal finance class, I thought teaching a personal finance lesson to 3rd graders would be a good idea. Some of the students receive an allowance and/or shop with their families and at this age, don't always make wise spending decisions. So, prepared a lesson plan for the class I work in. The lesson went over the significance of knowing the difference between wants and needs in order to spend money more wisely. The students enjoyed the lessons and I hope to build on it before the school year ends. "

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!