Raimondo Brings Message of 'Fiscal Empowerment' to Mt. Hope High

Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo visited Mt. Hope High School on Friday, May 3, to underscore the message of financial responsibility to students in the Personal Finance class taught by Anne Ricci.

Raimondo, Supt. Melinda Thies, school committee member John Saviano, and People's Credit Union Business Development Officer Courtney Hunter were among the speakers for the class session, which also included a ceremonial awarding of completion certificates to the students.

Hunter explained that students tend to be interested in the People's Credit Union-sponsored "EverFi" program because it concerns money, something every teenager thinks about.

"I find that students have a natural curiosity about topics related to money — obviously, if you asked any student in school where they see themselves in several years, more often than not they see themselves as financially successful," Hunter explained. "I spend a lot of time talking about what all of that means — their natural curiosity, combined with the EverFi program, gives them a pretty complete picture of where they need to be going forward."

During an interview in the high school library after awarding certificates to the students and seeing the EverFi computer program in action, Raimondo said she feels that teaching young adults about handling money will translate into future success as Rhode Island citizens.

"It's so important to reach young people with financial literacy — we have to help them stay out of debt and stay out of making financial mistakes early in their life," Raimondo explained. "What we want to do here is educate people, generally, to be more financially aware. That means your own personal pocketbook but also to engage in the state's issues — Is the state balancing its budget? Is the state handling my money properly — just being smart to ask the right questions to hold people like me accountable."

Check out the accompanying video from Raimondo's visit to Mt. Hope High School.