CANYON, Texas — Thirty West Texas A&M University students received an early Christmas gift when they were surprised with scholarships from Education Credit Union.
The students took part in WT’s Money Management Bootcamp, a six-week series of seminars sponsored by the Education Credit Union Buff $mart program.
At a Nov. 15 graduation reception, the names of 14 eligible participants were drawn to receive $250 scholarships from WT and ECU. At the conclusion of the reception, ECU President and CEO Marcus Smith announced that, for the first time, ECU would fund scholarships for the remaining 12 eligible students, plus four peer financial coaches.
ECU became a naming sponsor of WT’s Buff $mart Program in September 2020. The program helps students improve their understanding of financial literacy and empowers them to make informed choices to improve their financial well-being.
“ECU recognizes the hard work these students put in to better their knowledge of financial literacy and education,” Smith said. “We wanted to celebrate their success.”
In all, ECU and WT jointly provided $7,500 in scholarship funds for the students.
The bootcamp offered six sessions on topics such as paying for college, building credit responsibly, overcoming financial obstacles and more.
To be eligible to be in the drawing for a scholarship, students received points for attendance, participation, completing assignments, and attending a one-on-one coaching session.
