By Quintin Marquez
Video Reporter
The Amarillo College Washongton Street Campus hosted an open house for its new Money Management Center Jan. 30.
The center is a resource for students to go for help with money management. Its main goals are to help students understand key personal financial concepts, encourage student retention and degree completion, facilitate career readiness, lower overall student debt levels and prevent student loan default, said Lisa Bentley, director of the Money Management Center.
The center works alongside the AC Career Center to provide services for students while they attend AC and after they graduate.
“We want to help so that a student can be complete when it comes to managing finances, interviews for jobs, filling out a resume and (starting) a career,” Bentley said.
Some students said the center provides much-needed help.
“I think it’s a great department for the college, simply because you have people that care about you,” said Mike Baeza, a general studies major.
In addition to money management advice and career help, the center provides a “clothes closet” for students who might need something to wear to their first interviews.
“It’s great because it is completely free,” said Emily Wrights, a secondary education major. “You can come in and pick out something for professional attire or interviews and just take it home, because it is to keep.”
Both the Money Management Center and the Career Center are on the first floor of Lynn Library. Students can make an appointment or walk in to receive help with financial issues or to find a career that fits them.
“They are doing a lot to try to help out, and that means a lot to students,” said Jennifer Hernandez, a psychology major.
The Career Center has been around since August 2012, and the Money Management Center opened its doors Oct. 1, 2013.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Wrights said. “I have talked to a lot of people, including my parents, and they wish they had a Career Center when they went here because we offer so much.”
The Money Management Center is funded through a grant from TG, a nonprofit corporation that offers resources to help students and families plan and prepare for college, learn the basics of money management and repay their federal student loans.
TG also administers Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans made before July 1, 2010, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education.
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