RIVERDALE, Utah–America First Credit Union has joined forces with the Utah Jump$tart Coalition to award five scholarships to Utah students who have demonstrated a strong understanding of personal finance. All Utah high school students take the General Financial Literacy (GFL) Course, a half-semester class that teaches students about personal finance topics including budgeting, saving, debt and credit.
“Utah is the only A+ state in the nation for financial and economic literacy education,” said Anna Tibbitts, Director of the Utah Jump$tart Coalition. “This scholarship program encourages students to demonstrate how they will handle the financial aspects of pursuing a college education.”
Alexa Zaharis, of Corner Canyon High School is one of the 2018 scholarship winners.
“The information that I learned in the (financial literacy) class is the most useful information I learned over the course of my entire high school career,” Zaharis said. “Although I know my parents are there to help me, they will not always be there to walk me through every step of financial planning. I completed that class feeling confident about handling the financial side of college and of life.”
Zaharia created an original YouTube video where she was the financial virtual assistant “Alexa” who helped identify smart strategies for paying for college. Zaharia, along with four other scholarship winners, received a $1,250 scholarship for her creative YouTube entry.
Other scholarship winners included Ryan Callister of Tooele High School, Mary Flandro of Herriman High School, Brooke Meadows of Dixie High School and Audrey Ludlow of Juab High School. Entries can be viewed on www.utahjumpstart.org or YouTube.