This opening line is normally where we’d include a hook to reel our readers in. But you don’t need us to tell you how important money is.

No one thinks about money management more than Ann Marie Hibbert, chair of the Finance Department in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics. But she’s not thinking about what’s in her wallet: she’s thinking about the people of West Virginia.

“We have a duty and a responsibility to the state to fulfill our land–grant  mission,” Hibbert said. “I don't think it's just something that we should do when it's convenient. It's something we should be intentional about.”

The Finance Department is turning that intention into action.

Thanks to two powerful outreach efforts, professors and students alike are preparing West Virginia for its financial future, and ensuring everyone in the 55 counties remains healthy, wealthy and wise – and not necessarily in that order.

Peerless Coaching

What starts in the classroom doesn’t always stay there. When it comes to the Peer Financial Coaching program, the classroom belongs to Professor Joseph DeGroff.

“Our students who take our Personal Finance course can apply to be peer financial coaches,” DeGroff said. “We build the program from that class.”

As program coordinator, DeGroff supervises three student coaches dedicated to educating their fellow Mountaineers about personal finance. He provides a guiding hand, but most of the work is left to the coaches themselves.

They take a two-pronged approach, hosting seminars for student groups and also working one-on-one with interested student clients.

“We've been mainly targeting freshman audiences right now, but we'll give a presentation to anyone who requests one,” said Josh Freeman, who serves as a peer financial coach. “In college, it's really easy to bury yourself in student loan debt and credit card debt. This is more about educating yourself before the problem begins.”

The coaches aren’t just educating their clients, though. They're educating themselves about their future careers in financial services.

“Until you actually sit down with a client, you don't know what it's like,” Freeman said.

“You start running into problems that you haven't seen before, and I'd much rather work with those now, while I have someone like Professor DeGroff who can advise me. It gives us a trial run with a safety net.”

The program is still in its early stages, but demand is growing. Coaches have already been asked to present to external audiences, including high schoolers, and one WVU student even brought in her mother for financial coaching.

The future is looking bright – and busy.

“Many students won’t meet with a financial advisor as they don’t feel quite ready for that process," DeGroff said. "However, if they’re comfortable meeting with a peer who’s equipped to give them guidance, then that’s a step in the right direction.”

University Squared

In 2023, West Virginia became the 18th state to require that all high school students take a personal finance course by the time they graduate.

Luckily, WVU has been laying the groundwork for statewide financial education since 2002.

Hosted annually by WVU, Finance University offers K-12 teachers from across West Virginia a chance to immerse themselves in personal finance education. Learning from professors and industry experts, they return to their communities with all the skills they need to teach the next generation how to manage its money.

It’s free, too. You don’t need to teach personal finance to know that’s a good thing.

“Currently, Finance University is one of only two training courses in West Virginia that allow teachers to receive the credentials to teach personal finance, and we’re the only one that’s in-person,” said Hibbert, who also serves as the Finance University coordinator.

“We have sessions led by teachers, so you're not just hearing from producers of content or tools, but also from people who have used these concepts. They’re experiencing what their students will experience.”

To remain effective, Finance University has to remain current. Hibbert has recently added sessions on cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, as well as leveraging AI tools in teaching personal finance.

“We try to make it very engaging, highly interactive,” Hibbert said. “We had 46 teachers this past year. The reach we’re having is really tremendous."

Sometimes, that reach even extends beyond the classroom.

“In 2023, we had someone from the IRS do a presentation about Volunteer Income Tax Assistance," Hibbert said. “You not only teach your students taxes, but also get them involved in their communities.

“One of our teachers loved it so much that she had a group of her high school students start a VITA prep session at her school. Her experience was so great that she wanted to come back.”

She did – and she brought six of her students with her. In front of an audience of teachers, they spoke about their experience helping low-income community members file their taxes.

“Someone asked if it wasn’t hard to do some people’s taxes,” Hibbert said. “One of the students said ‘yes’ – one man didn’t have anything sorted out. But they helped him get organized and get his taxes finished in time to meet the deadline. He felt so accomplished.

“That was a moment of pride.”

Finance Forward

A moment is all Hibbert can afford, though. From the groups served through peer financial coaching to the teachers served by Finance University, the success stories are numerous – and the pace is picking up.

“I’m constantly trying to identify ways where we can fulfill the land-grant mission, even without a surplus of resources,” Hibbert said. “It informs my research, what I should be teaching my students, how I should be contributing to the development of the state.”

The name of the game, both in your wallet and in WVU’s fulfillment of its land-grant mission, is growth. Have more, do more, be more.

“A few semesters ago, we did a pilot internally with my capstone course,” DeGroff said. “I told some medical residents that we could try writing them free financial plans.

“One of them I still follow up with. She’s doing marvelously – she’s grown a lot because we taught her the basics of insurance and cash flow and budgeting. There’s so much room for growth here."

It’s not just about doing someone’s taxes. It’s about teaching them to do their own – and teaching them to teach others. The effect is exponential.

It’s reciprocal, too. When WVU reaches out, it brings the rest of the state closer.

“It’s not only our citizenry that’s benefitting,” Hibbert said. “We benefit. We get to learn about the people we serve.”