Today's high school grads will need $2 million to retire, says Nuvision Credit Union

Saving for retirement has never been more important - or more difficult. Nuvision Credit Union recognizes that many young adults need help understanding the path to financial security.

For a second year, Nuvision is offering its signature educational event,Think.Tank.Challenge, an essay contest scholarship program offered to youth from select high schools.

Nuvision’s Think.Tank.Challenge provides financial education workshops to students and their parents and scholarships to students who enter a contest by writing essays. Winners, selected by online voting, also earn their schools a donation from Nuvision.

Schools that signed up for the free program held an assembly during school hours announcing the program. Nuvision then presented an evening workshop to which students and parents were invited. Students received the essay prompt related to financial literacy and how it will serve them. Students who wish to participate write essays. Each school selects its 10 best entries, which are then posted online for voting. Students spring into action to garner votes, and essays that receive the most online votes win the scholarships.

“(The workshop) helped me understand how credit works and about saving money,” commented one student attendee.

“The presentation was very informative and the tips are very helpful for my future,” said another student.

“This is information that young people need to hear,” added a workshop attendee.

“Sound financial education is key to knowing how to handle money, but most high school students graduate with no idea about the importance of saving or what to do with that first paycheck,” said Attila Morgan, Nuvision’s manager of community engagement and PR. “In our evening workshops, we explain how saving $10 a day will accrue in 30 years to $223,553 at 4%. This is a crucial time of their lives when forming good saving habits and learning to make sound money decisions can set them on a path to a successful financial future. We are excited to support local students with information that can help them achieve their personal financial goals.”

Earlier this month at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Ron Brown, former Los Angeles Rams player and Olympic gold medal sprinter (pictured above with Nuvision's Manager of Community Engagement and Public Relations Attila Morgan), captivated the audience by telling them about the many young star athletes he has met who were signed to play in professional sports leagues. They suddenly have more money than they ever dreamed possible, with the often disastrous results.

“Too often young people who receive a windfall get caught up in buying houses and cars, and for athletes, that multi-million-dollar signing bonus slips away due to a lack of financial education. I am a firm believer in ‘pay yourself first.’ It’s essential to sock away a portion before you do anything else with your cash. I’ve counseled far too many bankrupt athletes and helped them get back on their feet,” Brown warned.

Last year’s Think.Tank.Challenge first-place winner of $5,000 was awarded to Stefan Trujillo at Schurr High School in Montebello. His school also received $2,500 from Nuvision; he now attends the University of LaVerne. Five runner-up prizes of $1,000 were awarded to Dayanah Towner at Carson High School; Timothy White at Long Beach Polytechnic High School; John Garcia at Schurr High School; Julia DeJong of Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and Daisy Boeckmann of Carson High School.

Nuvision Credit Union is a full-service financial institution with 13 branches located in Los Angeles and Orange Counties and Arizona and assets of more than $1.3 billion. Headquartered in Huntington Beach, Calif., Nuvision was founded in 1935 to serve employees of Douglas Aircraft Company. It continues to serve aerospace employees from Boeing, employees of Sempra Energy/The Gas Company, and employees of Tesoro with a total of more than 83,000 members primarily in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.