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October 20, 2007

Plattsburgh High students learn value of opening savings accounts

'This will be nice to have to help us in the future"

By DAN HEATH

PLATTSBURGH -- Some Plattsburgh High School students are learning the benefits of saving money by opening savings accounts.

Fourteen students in Karen Rock's career and financial management class at Plattsburgh High School, including 12 who are also involved in the school's internship program, opened savings accounts at UFirst Federal Credit Union recently.

"We are very delighted you (UFirst) are doing this program with us today," Rock said.

Students met with UFirst Director of Marketing Jody Carpenter and Head Teller Eric Arlt, who led a discussion about credit unions and how, as a not-for-profit, they are different from a bank.

The UFirst Board of Directors approved a donation of $5 to each student to open an account. Students who make it through the school year without making a withdrawal are eligible for up to a $100 match from the business or organization where they intern.

The students then returned to the lobby, where students filled out deposit slips and made their deposit with UFirst Member Service Representative Meg McGee-Pelkey.

Juniors Nikki Prim, 17, and Allie Langdon, 16, said these were their first savings accounts.

"This will be nice to have to help us in the future," Prim said.

Langdon said it will be easier to save money through the Credit Union.

"It's not as easy as just going in your room and grabbing money to spend," she said.

Leo Pelkey, 15, is a 10th-grade student. He said his short-term goal is to save $50, possibly by getting a job or working around the house.

Andy Roenbeck, 15, also in the 10th grade, said he was able to make an initial deposit of $20. As the son of Clinton Community College Athletic Director Todd Roenbeck, Andy raised money by working the sidelines for the college's sports teams.

Rock said she used to have students open a mock savings account in class, but the opportunity to open a real account is a better teaching tool.

"Making it real always makes it more interesting. This is something that's really theirs and helps them develop a lifetime skill."

The program is a joint effort between UFirst and the Plattsburgh City School District Credit Union. The accounts were opened at UFirst because it is a community credit union, while the school's is open only to employees and their families.

Anna Sherman of the Plattsburgh City School District Credit Union said opening their own savings accounts is a fabulous opportunity for the students.

"For a lot of them, this is their first experience doing anything with a financial institution. The whole purpose is to teach them to save."

Rock said the students had already set SMART -- specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time measured -- goals for the class.

"After, we will go back to class and see if they met their goals," Rock said.

Students were to balance their savings-account ledgers, make sure they understood the information in the UFirst newsletter and set another short-term goal: to outline how much they planned to save in the next 30 days.

A UFirst representative will come to the school twice a week to pick up additional deposits, or students can make them in person at the Credit Union during regular business hours.

"This is the first step for a lifetime of saving and knowing how important it is," Sherman said.

E-mail Dan Heath at:

dheath@pressrepublican.com

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