Franklin University Professor Martina Peng, center, a PhD alum of the program, and Chase Studer, to Peng's left, a dual major in financial planning and business, mentored high school students. All photos by Chris Bournea
In an effort to promote financial literacy and encourage young people to consider careers in financial planning, the college recently paired 40 central Ohio high schoolers with Columbus-based financial professionals.
Cäzilia Loibl, professor of Consumer and Family Financial Services, organized the 2025 Financial Planning Academy at the Columbus campus June 23-27. Ohio State was one of five universities around the country that hosted the academy, which was created by Texas Tech University and funded by the Charles Schwab Foundation.
The academy is designed to enhance high school students’ understanding of personal finance and the financial planning profession, said Loibl, of the Department of Human Sciences. She administers the academy with assistance from the program’s Senior Specialist George Rooney, a PhD alum of the program, and Administrative Assistant Katelyn Tatum.
“We cover all the main topics: cash and debt, investing and retirement,” Loibl said. “We [also] do insurance and estate planning.”
Financial planning experts guide case study, business startup ideas
The high school sophomores, juniors and seniors worked in small groups on a financial planning case study. Under the supervision of local financial planning professionals and Ohio State students majoring in finance-related subjects, the student groups created financial plans and competed for scholarships and prizes.
“It’s a case study about a couple who is doing well, but they have some financial issues and questions,” Loibl said. “Texas Tech writes a case study every year, and it’s perfectly written for this audience.”
The academy concluded with group presentations in which the students discussed the financial plans they drafted for the fictional couple. Several of the financial planning professionals served on a judging panel and gave the students feedback on their presentations.
The students also pitched ideas for starting their own financial planning firms and asked family members in attendance to act as mock investors.
“Each visitor — the parents, the siblings, the families — gets a thousand dollars of play money to invest in those ideas,” Loibl said.
High school and college students alike benefit
Binta Ndiaye, a Cristo Rey Columbus High School graduate who will be a first-year student at Ohio State this fall, said she learned personal finance lessons during the academy that will benefit her throughout life.
“I’m thinking, well, if you’re making $6,000 a month, you’re pretty much set. But then you have to look at everything that you have to buy: your health insurance, paying off debts and the little bills that you have here and there, maybe your streaming services and stuff that you don’t really think about,” she said. “Budgeting was a big highlight for me.”
Cameron Uttley, a senior financial planner with John E. Sestina and Company, said he was impressed by the students’ incisive questions and observations.
“This group is going to have such a head start,” he said. “If they retain even just 25% of what they learned this week, they’re going to be so much ahead of their peers and those even older than them.”
Chase Studer, an Ohio State business and financial planning major, said participating in the academy was as much of a learning experience for him as it was for the high schoolers he mentored.
“I wanted to do this to learn myself, but more to help younger students take this opportunity and learn from it because I did not have this opportunity while I was in high school,” he said. “They’re a lot farther ahead than I was at their age.”
Diamond Zimmerman, a client services associate with NorthAvenue Financial Advocates, also mentored the high school students. She said the academy offers an opportunity for young people to gain a clearer understanding of how money works.
“I think they’re gaining a deeper appreciation for how hard their parents work and understanding that … they can be good stewards over their finances, and then applying that to their everyday life,” she said. “They’re getting this excellent information at a very early age that will no doubt have a good impact on the rest of their lives.”
