Press
Memorial High School student named winner of second-annual ‘Project Teen Money’
MADISON, WI (April 16, 2015) — Megan Johnson, a senior at Memorial High School in Madison, was named winner of the second-annual Summit Credit Union ‘Project Teen Money,’ a scholarship and peer-to-peer financial education program based at Summit’s in-school branches at La Follette High School and James Madison Memorial High School. This is the second time a student from Memorial High School has been named winner of the program.
Each of the three students from the two high schools worked with a Summit financial coach and used financial education resources to create three short videos to share the tips and advice they learned about money to educate their peers. Topics included:
- “Why save & why start now”
- “How to make smart spending decisions”
- “Why give”
The school communities, as well as the public, were encouraged to vote for their favorite videos for each topic. Total video viewership increased by an impressive 113% over 2014.
Johnson, along with the five other students who competed in Project Teen Money, was celebrated on April 14th at a reception at Summit’s Inspiration Branch in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. As the grand prize winner, Johnson received a $2,500 scholarship based on the creativity of her videos, accuracy of financial information presented and votes from her peers as well as Summit’s selection committee. The other five participants each received a $500 scholarship.
“Summit’s Project Teen Money empowers students to bring their own unique voices and creative approaches to inspire the entire community to save, spend and give wisely,” said Kim Sponem, CEO and President of Summit Credit Union. “It’s so much more than a scholarship program. It’s an exciting financial education impact made possible through our partnership with the Madison Area School District.”
The other Project Teen Money participants included:
- La Follette High School Students: Amadou Kromah, Anesha Randle and
Erika Tecuatl Lopez - Memorial High School Students: Ian Fitzgerald and Tejvir Mann
Visit https://www.summitcreditunion.com/projectteenmoney to learn more about Project Teen Money, each participant and view their respective videos.
Summit Credit Union’s Project Teen Money is part of its financial education outreach through its two high school branches. It is an off-shoot of Summit’s successful Project Money reality-based financial challenge geared toward adults and families, which will kick off its seventh-annual competition on June 15. For more information, visit: http://projectmoney.summitcreditunion.com/.
About Summit Credit Union:
Established in 1935, Summit Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative open to anyone in Wisconsin. Summit holds $2.2 billion in assets and has more than 144,000 members with 30 locations throughout the Madison and Milwaukee areas. For more information, visit www.summitcreditunion.com or call 608-243-5000 or 1-800-236-5560.
Editor’s Note: The Project Teen Money program logo is available for download at:
https://www.summitcreditunion.com/content/images/large/ProjectTeenMoneyLogo.jpg
Videos:
2015 Project Teen Money winner, Megan Johnson’s video on “Saving”, which includes other students from Memorial High School, can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbRE6u3kP7w.
Participant Amadou Kromah’s video, featuring a poem about spending, can be viewed at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=22&v=udXgQ3bauKk.
All student videos are available for viewing at: https://www.summitcreditunion.com/project-teen-money/videos.html.
Photos from the April 14 Project Teen Money Scholarship Challenge reception are available at: https://www.summitcreditunion.com/press_room_library.html.