When I started Capstone, I planned to create a student-focused organization app. I collaborated with psychology professors from Kent State to study learning strategies and with a Microsoft mentor to learn basic coding. Over time, I felt a strong pull to share my interests in a more impactful way. A summer internship at Fairport Wealth helped me realize my passion for financial education and community impact.

To address the lack of financial literacy education in middle school, I created Money Savvy, a curriculum that helps students gain foundational financial knowledge and inspires them to become financially savvy adults. I taught a pilot version to 15 middle school students, then offered a week-long workshop for rising 6th–8th graders through Summer at Laurel. This workshop was filled to capacity and generated a waiting list. I plan to teach Money Savvy as a middle school elective in the spring of 2026. I am also working to bring the program to the Breakthrough Charter School network.

While creating my own curriculum at a young age has been a big step, I know this is just the beginning. My “aha” moment came when I saw my students become more responsible with their money. Watching their knowledge grow before my eyes has been the most rewarding part of the past two years.

Along the way, I faced several challenges. One major hurdle was pivoting my project after realizing I was no longer passionate about my original idea. Though difficult, this change led me to pursue something I truly cared about. 

Another challenge was finding the right mentors. At first, I felt overwhelmed by the number of people I could reach out to and didn’t know where to begin. Eventually, I turned to Laurel faculty with experience in financial literacy and middle school education. Their guidance helped everything fall into place, and I’ve been able to build meaningful relationships through every step of my journey.