SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Central New York’s first student-run credit union is celebrating two decades of service at the East Syracuse Minoa High School.
Founded in 2005, the Spartan Branch is staffed by student volunteers who perform the same jobs as credit union employees, serving staff and other students.
The goal is to help enhance financial literacy and provide students with valuable career experiences.
For former teller Emma Wilson-Hefti, the job provided valuable life and career lessons on how to manage money.
“The Spartan Branch has helped me grow because it’s shown me that I love to work with money, I love banking, finance and accounting,” said Wilson-Hefi. “I’ve learned a lot of life skills through this, like how to open my own bank account and how to deal with money on both the personal and professional side.”
The program is seen as a blueprint for credit unions around the country that are looking to implement their own youth financial literacy initiatives.