FSHS grad helps students learn to deal with money

Sam Johnson, a junior finance and economics major at Pittsburg State University, holds up a bag of quarters to show a group of third graders from Lakeside Elementary School in Pittsburg during a tour of Citizens Bank in Pittsburg on Tuesday. Johnson, a graduate of Fort Scott High School, demonstrated for the kids how saving quarters can add up to a good amount of cash. The bank tour was part of an educational program called Gorilla Savings sponsored by the PSU group, Students in Free Enterprise. (Submitted photo) [Click to enlarge]

That's the idea behind Gorilla Savings, a program sponsored by the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) group at Pittsburg State University.

This semester, PSU students in the organization brought a series of lessons to Pittsburg's Lakeside Elementary School that focused on the concept of personal finance. Third graders were introduced to the basic ideas of how to begin a savings account, how to borrow money and other financial literacy skills. Their lessons concluded this week with a tour of Citizens Bank's main Pittsburg branch, 2300 N. Broadway, on Tuesday.

Sam Johnson, the co-chairman of the Gorilla Savings project and a junior at PSU majoring in business finance, said the organization's main goal is to get students to start thinking about personal finance and the skills they will need to have.

"It is important to teach key financil concepts at an early age in order to empower future generations to make wise financial decisions," Johnson said.

Johnson is from Fort Scott and is a graduate of Fort Scott High School.

The students' final lesson at Citizens Bank included a tour of the bank and vault. Students also received a financial workbook.