CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–MIT FCU said that as part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) it has collaborated with the Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center (PKG) to offer a social impact internship opportunity.
The internship position was a first for MIT FCU, the credit union said, and offers students the chance to contribute to a new student-generated content series on their Money Talk blog called "Student Talk."
PKG Center's Social Impact Internship (SII) Program focuses on providing financial education for students and marginalized communities, and it “seemed an obvious fit for the credit union,” MIT FCU said.
The program's first writing intern is MIT engineering student Nathan Liang, who “accepted the challenge presented by this Social Impact Internship, choosing an audience he is familiar with and for whom financial education can be challenging to find,” the credit union explained.
The Target Audience
MITFCU added Liang’s chosen target audience included the lower-income audience of students, and the underserved, marginalized, and unbanked minority communities, including LGBTQI, Latinx, and African-American populations, as well as the many international students that attend MIT.
MITFCU said Liang crowdsourced content, including viewpoints, stories, and everyday experiences from his peers at MIT, as well as sharing his personal experiences. Content for Student Talk was developed from these shared experiences. Topics included financial planning, building credit, renting and leasing basics, and health insurance.
He further employed crowdsourcing for feedback on his early drafts to ensure an accurate representation of peer experiences, MITFCU added.
‘Hearing All Voices’
"We believe that hearing all voices in our community that tap into real-life experiences are of great value for the members and communities we serve,” said Rui Domingos, CEO and president of MIT Federal Credit Union. “Nathan's perspective and approach to financial education for his peers are very relevant. His content highlights many individuals' struggle with a lack of awareness and basic knowledge of financial services. I'm happy with Nathan's work as it complements the mission of MIT FCU as a member-focused credit union that exists to improve the lives of all members of our community.”
In total, Liang produced 10 original articles for the Student Talk Series, which will be published in succession on the blog over the next several months. The blog can be found at mitfcu.org/moneytalk; search the blog archives beginning with May.