Westford Academy’s Student Senate will be hosting a Credit for Life Fair in the main gym on Monday, June 2 in the days leading up to graduation. The members aim to promote financial literacy amongst seniors through different booths to prepare them for life after high school.
The fair will be set up similarly to the popular board game “The Game of Life” as students will be asked to make personal choices based on decisions that they will have to face someday in the future. Students will also encounter different roadblocks based on their choices as they proceed through the event. To begin the fair, each senior will select a career and will be given an annual salary based on their choice.
As they walk around, they will approach different interactive booths, such as ones that specialize in higher education, housing, health, clothing, and transportation with professionals from each field to lend advice and information on the topic. Each booth will have different interactive and engaging activities based on the specific aspect of life it is teaching students about. Along with this, each senior is expected to fill out a worksheet to budget the different expenses they might encounter in these situations.
“Since the fair is during seniors’ last week, it will be only for seniors, and college will be on almost everyone’s minds. College is already so expensive, and it is the first time most students will be living on their own and making their own decisions,” Student Senate Chair and senior Saanvi Arora said. “Having this kind of information is extremely important.”
Since the early years of the Student Senate, a major goal for many members has been to increase financial literacy amongst high schoolers. According to Arora, teaching financial literacy is important due to the overwhelming amount of students who feel ill-prepared for the hefty decisions that come after leaving WA. The members felt that they had a duty to alleviate some of the stress seniors feel on their way to college by helping them understand the economics and financials they may have to delve into in the future.
“I think that financial literacy is something that everyone should have an understanding of because it is a skill that everyone needs, and while there are a few classes available at WA that students can take, it’s not something that everyone can fit into their schedule,” Arora said. “Making those classes a requirement for all students is a long process, so we thought that a good compromise in the meantime would be this fair.”
Along the journey of creating this event, there have been a few challenges regarding the logistics of the fair as the members themselves are high school students in the process of learning the ins-and-outs of finance. However, they have gained helpful insight and resources from various teachers around the school, including Student Senate Adviser Tim Welch and business teachers Gina Mustoe and Sarah Ricard, as well as the local Westford Rotary Club.
“I met with members of the club to brainstorm a couple of times. I also got them in touch with Mr. Kumar, who is going to assist with grant money and business professionals from the Westford Rotary Club to run the event,” Mustoe said.
Additionally, the members plan to partake in different advertising ventures for the event as it is an optional opportunity for the seniors. Class of 2025 dean Bob Ware will also be promoting the event to the class to get them interested and excited in the weeks leading up to the fair.
“We’re expecting a big outcome and hoping that a lot of people show up,” Student Senate member and freshman Anya Jain said. “We’re excited to put on this event for the seniors as we think this will be a fun way to get them involved in making better financial decisions in the future.”
