RALEIGH, N.C.–Thanks to a unique partnership between the Coastal Federal Credit Union Foundation and The Kenan Fellows Program, Durham Public Schools Teacher Emmalea Couch, who is finishing up an internship at Coastal’s corporate headquarters, will leave the Coastal Community Engagement team with a comprehensive resource on financial literacy that they will share with their community partners going forward.
This is the first internship of its kind sponsored by the Coastal Foundation in line with the Foundation’s mission of increasing financial literacy across the communities of Durham, Orange and Wake Counties.
Couch, an English teacher at C.E. Jordan High School in Durham and a 2015 Kenan Fellows Recipient, has spent the last several weeks with the Coastal Community Engagement team led by her mentor, Creighton Blackwell, VP Branches and Community Engagement.
“When I applied, I was excited about this particular program because financial education was missed in my own education and I’d like to see my students set up for future success,” says Emmalea.
The Coastal Community Engagement team works throughout various communities in the Triangle advocating and instructing in the area of financial literacy. Ms. Couch has been honing new skills under their guidance and leadership during her internship. To complete her Fellowship, she will create, pilot, and revise curriculum materials that give her students insight into real world work and learning experiences. A variation of these same materials will also be used by the Coastal Community Engagement team.
“For the Foundation, this internship means the ability for us to tangibly impact communities,” says Creighton. He goes on to say, “We understand the importance of education. We hear about it every day from our members that come to us about their finances. This gives us a chance to partner with our educational partners to really have a direct impact.”