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On Saturday, Nov. 5, �԰�����’s Michael Neidorff School of Business��(MNSB) hosted 45 Upward Bound��(UB) students from Harlandale ISD and Edgewood ISD��for Financial Literacy Day. This event helped UB students make connections with �԰����� faculty, students, and business professionals from the local community.��

For the last 35 years, �԰����� has hosted the Upward Bound program through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Upward Bound helps first-generation and underrepresented high school students succeed in their precollege coursework. This program provides students with initiatives for success, including academic sessions held on the �԰����� campus, cultural field trips, and weekly advising sessions held at the students’ high schools.��

On Financial Literacy Day, students from grades 9-12 learned about budgeting, investments, business analytics and finance, and personal finance. �԰�����’s MNSB faculty led the activities, and each UB student had a �԰����� student to guide them throughout the day. During the students’ lunch break, their �԰����� student mentors were available to answer questions about their decisions to attend college, how they picked their school, their major, and why they chose as they did.��

Amy Foshee Holmes, Ph.D., associate professor of accounting, believes this event was enriching for both UB and �԰����� students. "I am quite sure that the �԰����� students were changed by this opportunity to mentor high school students,” she says. “Some of the �԰����� volunteers are also first-generation college students, so they understand the challenges and uncertainty faced by the Upward Bound students."

The UB students also participated in round-table discussions with four of the MNSB’s Business Advisory Council members. These informal discussions allowed the participants to meet with business professionals on a casual level and learn about their career and education paths.��

This day-long event helped provide UB students with the security and encouragement they need as they consider attending college after high school.��

"As a first-generation college student, I see education as magic because it provides opportunities that you didn't even dream could be possible, and the Upward Bound program is creating magic right here on our campus,” Holmes says. “Financial Literacy Day is a perfect way to connect the Neidorff School of Business students, faculty, staff, and Business Advisory Council members to the magic that is inspiring high school students in our community to dream bigger and explore their interests through a college education."