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ANDERSON, South Carolina (WYFF) — A student-run branch of Upstate Federal Credit Union (FCU) is helping students from kindergarten through high school learn the fundamentals of financial responsibility.
Crescent High School is home to a fully student-led branch of Upstate FCU that operates like a traditional bank while giving students hands-on experience managing money before they graduate.
Students can open accounts, make deposits, and learn how everyday banking works under the guidance of credit union staff.
“Our dream is to see financial education at all levels of the schools,” said Donna Metz, president and CEO of Upstate Federal Credit Union.
Some branch employees, including recent graduate Lilly Cook, are helping inspire the next generation to build healthy financial habits through creative methods, including her piglet puppet, LES.
“LES stands for Learn It, Earn It, Save It,” Cook said.
Together, Cook and LES visit elementary classrooms to teach students the importance of balancing saving and spending.
“I kind of wanted to bring it back old-school with puppets,” Cook said. “I wanted to turn it into a fun way, and who doesn’t love a puppet?”
Cook said she was inspired to teach financial literacy after seeing how many families in South Carolina struggle financially, and wanted the next generation to feel equipped to make financial decisions.
“I was floored that she, on her own, decided to create this puppet and go out and teach financial education,” Metz said.
Metz also stressed the importance of introducing financial education at an early age is critical. “The need for financial education starts young,” Metz said. “Some families, all the way up into adulthood, are unbanked.”
At Crescent High School, the student-run credit union branch also gives students the opportunity to put lessons from the school’s recently added financial literacy curriculum into practice by opening and managing their own accounts.
“They just started doing financial courses, but honestly with some teachers and some students, they learn it in the classroom, and then what’s next?” Cook said.
For many students, that next step is gaining real-world experience managing money—an opportunity they may not have had without access to the school’s credit union branch.
“Being able to give them the card, it kind of gives them some light, a sense of independence, because these kids, they haven’t had bank accounts before,” Cooke said.
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