From Ohio Northern University at www.onu.edu/news/

For their senior capstone project, Ohio Northern University finance majors participated in a service-learning project aimed at enhancing financial literacy among high school students in Ada, Kenton, and Upper Scioto Valley schools.

The interactive project involved two classroom visits, offering ONU student the opportunity to work directly with the local students.

“During the first visit, ONU students introduced themselves, led an activity, and administered a survey to assess the level of ‘financial literacy’ of the students,” said David McClough, Ph.D., professor of economics and finance capstone coordinator for the Dicke College of Business Administration.

After compiling the survey results, ONU students created a detailed report that guided their selection of financial topics for the second visit. “The findings informed the presentations they delivered later in the fall semester,” added McClough.

Beyond community outreach, the project provided ONU students with valuable insights for their future careers. They conducted research on the history and socio-political factors influencing Ohio’s adoption of financial literacy standards for K-12 education.

“An understanding of the state of financial literacy in Ohio is important because many finance majors pursue employment in financial services occupations,” said McClough. “An understanding of the customer is intended to improve the services provided.”

The ONU finance students gained a new appreciation for the importance of financial education in the formative years.

“Whether you plan to continue your education or enter the workforce, everyone should graduate high school with a basic understanding of important financial concepts such as how to put together a budget, get a loan, how credit works, etc.,” said senior finance major Lance Good.

In one segment of the project, ONU students conducted security analyses of two publicly traded companies chosen by the high school students as “good investments.” During their final classroom visit, they presented the results of their analyses to the high school students, sharing their recommendation of whether to buy, hold, or sell the stock of each company.

“This past semester, one group issued a ‘sell’ recommendation for Apple (AAPL),” said McClough. “For some this might be surprising; however, famed investor Warren Buffett reported selling millions of shares of AAPL that quarter, which suggests that the group may be on to something.”

The project’s impact on both the high school students and the ONU finance majors was evident.

 “I grew in my collaboration skills and industry knowledge,” concluded Brooke Allen, senior double major in finance and public relations. “I enjoyed researching the topics selected by the majority of our high school classes. It gave me insight into their interests and expanded my financial knowledge.”