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:

-----

Student: Grace Gawrych

Teacher: Brian Johnson

School: Forest Hills Northern High School, Grand Rapids, MI

"Personal Finance has taught me to be much more aware of the money that I have and how tempting it can be to spend it. I’ve learned how to save money, invest wisely, and how to scout out the insurance or loan payments that work best for me and my (future) income. I feel more confident than ever about entering the “real world” now that I carry this knowledge with me, and know that personal finance has helped me to make much better decisions with my money, now and in the future."

-----

Student: Abby Underhill

Teacher: Laura Falk

School: Fairbanks High School, Milford Center, OH

"Money is the one aspect that will follow a person no matter where they go or what they do. It is part of our daily lives and can either enrich or impoverish a person... This class helped me to create a budget so that I can be saving the maximum amount for college while still paying for my animal supplies. My money is in the bank and this class helped me decide what accounts I should put my money in to ensure that I am making money from my money."

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!