Teaching Financial Literacy Skills

Raven Brown ’25 was excited to step out of her comfort zone when she joined the Summer Financial Literacy program — seeing it as an opportunity to explore a new path beyond her psychology major. As a program supported through the Silk Financial Empowerment & Education Initiative, Summer Financial Literacy targets youth in Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco and has given her meaning  to “serving for the greater good”. 

When learning about the Summer Financial Literacy program, I was extremely excited to step out of my comfort zone as I haven’t had many opportunities to do so while in college. I wanted to accomplish something that would not only challenge and allow me to help others but also gain experience teaching youth.

I am a psychology major planning on going to the criminal psychology field, so I felt this program would help show me another potential road I could go down. I never considered working with children before, but I wanted to explore all my options available to me. I am thankful enough to be a part of a school that has programs such as Summer Financial Literacy. This program taught me so much about working with youth, myself, and even my own teaching/learning style which is something I’ll be able to improve and build upon in the future.

This program encompasses the McCarthy Center‘s values as the Summer Financial Literacy program is designed to be involved in the community and contribute to our society. This is seen through partnering with organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, where there are so many different identities, cultures, ages, and more. Learning how to cater to the needs of others especially youth are vital to make them feel seen and heard which is what we wanted to do with this program.

Giving these young people the skills that I never had while growing up was a big part of why I wanted to be a part of this experience. Teaching others what I desperately needed when leaving home and venturing out into the world at the age of 18—called to me. It takes a long time to learn these skills and I am still learning to this day! The age of these youth is the perfect time to start becoming educated on topics surrounding finances because preparing early on makes a world of difference.

As this program comes to a close, the biggest thing I have learned that made a huge impact on me is that I have to show up selflessly for the people I am serving. This program isn’t just about gaining money or even adding something to your resume. It is about showing up and being an educator for youth who may be just like me and don’t have people to teach them these topics at home. I think those interested in education or business management could really benefit from this internship program as it allows you to build your own skills and also do what you are passionate about, while also being there for your community.

Learn more about Jeff’s and Naomi Silk’s Investment Institute at USF.