KSU Grad Students Benefit from First Financial Education Workshop

Some Kennesaw State University graduate students are now better prepared to manage their finances following the first-of-its-kind financial workshop offered by the Graduate College.

Titled “Are You Financially Healthy?” the free workshop was led by representatives from Cobb-based Delta Community Credit Union, Georgia’s largest credit union. It introduced participants to various financial skills such as saving, budgeting, building an emergency account, managing debt and establishing credit.

KSU’s Graduate College in collaboration with multiple units organizes approximately 20 professional events a semester for students, which vary from networking events to academic and career preparation to career fairs. The September workshop, held in partnership with the credit union, was the first focused on financial education according to Shana Hill, director of Graduate Student Support.

Hill said students were recently surveyed on what topics interested them, and financial education was one of the top responses, which led to the pilot workshop.

“We have many graduate students that work while pursuing their degrees,” Hill said. “They have expenses, budgets and financial responsibilities outside of the classroom and we are thrilled that we can partner with Delta Community and offer this workshop as a resource for them.”

Brazill Kaleem, a graduate student at KSU attended the workshop because she wanted some pointers on handling her finances before earning her degree.

“With the shape of the economy, I think most of us want to understand how to enter ‘adult life’ financially prepared,” Kaleem said. “The presentation was very helpful.”

Jacinta Gadzanku, an international student at KSU, attended the event because she wanted to learn more about the U.S. credit system. She had been nervous about getting a credit card, but she was taught its advantages at the workshop.

“I did not want to get a credit card but coming here today changed my mind because I learned having credit history is important to your credit score,” Gadzanku said.