Program to teach about credit
Third-year economics student Isaac Rose is currently working with MasterCard to inform students about successful financial management as part of the Are You Credit Wise? campaign.
By Claire Makepeace
Oct. 1, 2009 9:58 p.m.
Isaac Rose first discovered an interest in finance through reading newspapers as a child.
“I read the New York Times everyday and as soon as I started to understand finance, it became really interesting to me,” he said. “I’ve known since middle school that this is what I want to do.”
When he traveled to Washington D.C. to begin an internship in financial services this July, Rose had no idea that this would be the beginning of a whole new avenue of his life at UCLA.
Now, Rose, a third-year economics student, is bringing the Are You Credit Wise? program to UCLA. The program will focus on teaching financial responsibility to students through workshops, fliers and coordination with campus organizations. The Are You Credit Wise? program was started 11 years ago in Washington D.C. by MasterCard and has been implemented in more than 70 colleges, reaching an estimated 500,000 students, according to a MasterCard statement.
“MasterCard started the program to provide education on financial responsibility to students. It was felt that there was a lack of concerted effort on informing students about the importance of keeping good credit,” according to Patrick Dwyer, vice president of global public policy at MasterCard Worldwide. He added that MasterCard believes the program could be a real benefit to UCLA students.
“MasterCard is confident that Isaac’s talent, energy and passion for financial literacy will be an asset to his peers at UCLA by strengthening their budgeting and credit management know-how,” Dwyer said.
Rose said he found out about the program through his internship coordinator at the House of Representatives Financial Services in Washington D.C. After completing an application, he was accepted into the program as an intern and selected to bring a new branch to UCLA.
“I was very excited for the opportunity as I think it’s a great idea,” he said.
He attended a two-day training course to prepare for his role in launching the program at UCLA. Rose will teach students to manage bank accounts, understand credit scores and use credit cards in a responsible manner. He said he is still in the planning stages of developing the program at UCLA and plans to publicize it in the near future. Rose said Are You Credit Wise? will be valuable in preparing a student for the future.
“College is a time when people should be getting financially literate, preparing for the future when they’ll have a job and have to deal with buying a house and having a mortgage and other big responsibilities,” Rose said.
He added that he believes a university is the best place to teach people about how to use credit for their advantage and, therefore, prepare them for the future. The Are You Credit Wise? program could serve as a stepping stone in his financial career, Rose said.
“I hope to go into financial regulation or another area of finance,” he said.
