MONTICELLO – Two Sullivan West students, passionate about business and helping their community, have joined forces to create a new financial literacy program that educates high school students about the coming demands of living in the real world, where survival is increasingly equated to financial success. On March 19, these intrepid young business scholars presented their project to the Sullivan County Legislature.

Senior Sam Lieberman and Junior Ethan Clark launched FinLit (financial literacy) for Teens two years ago, after they met in science class and realized they shared a mutual interest in business and helping those around them. They knew that many Sullivan West peers worked summer jobs where they earned several thousand dollars, but upon graduation, they had failed to save anything. Lieberman and Clark saw an opportunity and wanted to help.

“When we came together and realized that we had a passion and recognized this problem that is prevalent in our community… we came up with FinLit for Teens,” said Lieberman.

He explained that the peer-taught aspect is integral to their program because it allows students to immediately relate to their teachers in a way that would not be possible if classes were taught by adults. 

Lieberman said FinLit is coursework designed to prepare teens for the real world. “You’re making all this money, what’s after? Why are we making money? Is it just about buying a new pair of shoes and having the coolest clothes, or is it about also setting yourself up for success later on?” Lieberman said FinLit’s curriculum includes saving money, smart spending, credit and debt, banking, investing and planning for retirement.

“Our mission is to provide educational resources for free that will prepare teens for the future with proper financial-based education,” said Clark. 

To deepen their connections with students, Lieberman and Clark have curated relaxed, discussion-style classes. Like many origin stories that begin in a humble cauldron, they started with just one student attending all their classes last year. This year, their class has grown to five students.

“If we gave you a million dollars today, what would you do with it?” Lieberman asked his students at the beginning of a recent FinLit class. Lieberman said using open-ended questions like this gets the ball rolling and promotes free discussion. Lieberman and Clark include games to engage students and have used M&M’s to illustrate the difference between simple and compound interest.

Lieberman said they promote critical thinking during hour-long group work sessions and encourage students to share their own personal experiences in class so they can relate to the topic and hopefully apply the skills they are learning in their own lives.

As they look to the future, Clark said they are developing a website with Squarespace, a website-building platform for small businesses, where they can share videos and course outlines with current and prospective students. Clark said they hope to continue winning grants after successfully securing a grant through the Grace Johansen Foundation, which allowed them to “strike a deal” with Hudson Valley Credit Union. Through the partnership, kids that complete all five FinLit lessons get a $50 deposit into a Hudson Valley Credit Union bank account. 

Though they will not be students at Sullivan West for much longer, Lieberman and Clark envision FinLit continuing to benefit future generations of Sullivan West students. They would also like to expand the program across the state and, eventually, the country. 

Lieberman said they have a growing interest in a potential adult course at Ethelbert B. Crawford Library, where FinLit classes for high school students are already taking place. Though they plan on expanding beyond Sullivan County’s boundaries, they hope to maintain that core community aspect by continuing classes at the Monticello Library.

After a hearty applause from the audience, Legislature Chair Nadia Rajsz praised the students, saying, “[It’s a] phenomenal project and program. I’m impressed that two of you, so young, are educators, and it’s so important for our young people to understand that saving now will help them in the future.”