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: Lek Nath Luitel

Teacher: Courtney Poquette

School: Winooski High School (Winooksi, VT)

"Personal Finance offers students the opportunity to learn the skills they need to manage their financial lives. No matter what career you pursue of what path you take in life, at some point, you will be dealing with money. Having the knowledge of how taxes work, net worth, cash flow, and more, helps one better understand money and make smarter decisions in the future."

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Student: Peter LoSasso

Teacher: Sara Shackett

School: Lakewood High School (Lakewood, CO)

"My personal finance class was, hands down, the most useful class I've ever taken... personal finance taught me the skills I didn't realize I needed... After taking this class, I have taken steps towards a more stable and healthy life. I have gotten a credit card as to start building good credit, looked more carefully at college and the cost of living, and even made goals for my future self to accomplish."

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!