We live in a day and age where students take out thousands in loans just to attend college. Simultaneously, many also lack the financial education to effectively handle this burden of debt put upon them. Modern-day issues such as this led to the creation of Florida State University’s program Unconquered By Debt.
This week, I was able to sit down and interview Gwenyth Arrieta, a junior at FSU who also serves as one of the program’s marketing ambassadors. She dove into the program’s importance and her own personal involvement over the last few semesters.
Her Campus (HC): Can you explain what Unconquered by Debt is for those that are unaware?
Gwenyth Arrieta (GA): UBD is a program that is helping students at FSU learn how to build wealth right now in their life and teaching them how to apply what they learn to their future. We want to guide and teach people how to take control of their finances, stay out of debt and learn about future plans, such as retirement.
HC: What is your role as a UBD ambassador?
GA: As a UBD ambassador, my role is to engage with FSU students and talk to them about the importance of gaining financial literacy. I do this by marketing our program through tabling weekly at different locations on campus. During our tabling, we bring people in by asking personal finance questions in exchange for UBD merchandise or food items. We talk about what we have to offer as a program such as our workshops, our peer mentor meetings and our extensive Canvas page.
HC: How did you get involved with Unconquered By Debt?
GA: I first found out about UBD through my microeconomics class! My professor talked about the program and how they were looking for marketing ambassadors. As a marketing major, this really interested me, because I knew I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students, but also start getting into the field of marketing. UBD offers an opportunity for me to do both!
HC: Have you yourself learned from this financial literacy program as an ambassador?
GA: I’ve learned so much through UBD! I’ve gained more knowledge on credit management, investing, and the most important thing—how to start my journey to financial wellness. This program has been so beneficial and eye-opening for my future.
HC: I know you’re also the social media manager for UBD. How important do you think it is to engage with students on social platforms when marketing for this program?
GA: Social media is the daily newspaper of our generation. I believe engaging with students through social platforms is extremely important, since social media is the hub for most of our information these days. Through creative posts, I inform students about our workshops, where our tabling locations are, as well as new and exciting things they can learn through UBD.
HC: The program tends to be all around campus. What do you think is the value in changing locations every week?
GA: By changing locations every week, we are making sure to reach various types of students. Each student has a different story, different major and different outlook on life. The one thing they have in common is that everyone will one day learn about personal finance. UBD helps us start early by teaching topics such as retirement, which can seem so far away, but is actually closer than we think.
HC: What is your piece of advice to students who are trying to become financially aware, and how do you think your program can help them?
GA: My advice would be to start now! There’s so many resources and opportunities to learn more about becoming financially aware. The little change of learning personal financing now can make a huge impact on your future
Keep up with FSU Unconquered By Debt on social media: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!
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