Program Brings Financial Skills to Local Students

It's a Monday afternoon, and David Krause, a local banker, is giving a presentation.

He isn't making a pitch to a group of potential new clients. Rather, he’s in a St. Louis Park classroom, teaching a group of students about financial literacy.

Krause, who works at Beacon Bank in Eden Prairie, volunteers with BestPrep, a Minnesota nonprofit that gives students business, career and financial skills as they prepare for college.

“I just enjoy it, and it’s a way to give back,” Krause said.

Krause’s visit to is his second session this year with a group of juniors in the Admission Possible program, which works towards getting low-income students into college. It is the first year that Admission Possible has partnered with BestPrep, which trains bankers, financial planners and others with a financial background to volunteer in classrooms. There, they teach students the basics about things such as starting a bank account and maintaining a budget.

Krause talked about the importance of a budget and asked the students about ways they might be wasting money.

“Eating out,” one student said.

“Getting a limited-edition sweatshirt,” another added.

Krause then talked about credit cards, explaining to students how interest works and noting the importance of paying off credit cards. He told the young students that they might want to consider getting credit cards—with the blessing of their parents—so they can begin to build credit and learn how to budget.

Financial skills can go a long ways toward getting a student into college, especially someone from a low-income background, said Shakita Thomas, an Admission Possible coach at St. Louis Park High School.

“Honestly, I think a program like this is truly needed,” Thomas said. “If you get to college and can manage money, that’s a big aspect of staying in school.”

Next year, these juniors will be seniors and, if they stay in the Admission Possible program, they’ll have new BestPrep sessions on investing and credit. Current St. Louis Park seniors in Admission Possible are getting those sessions this year.

“I think it’s pretty essential to students like me,” Trejon Baynham, a junior with thoughts of college, said about financial literacy.

Baynham said he and his peers often don’t take the subject seriously enough, but he wants to be proactive. Being mentored by a professional like Krause, he said, was a welcome opportunity.

“A lot of kids worry about their future,” he said. “(The BestPrep sessions) took away some stress.”