NEW YORK, N.Y. – On Friday, June 9, Working in Support of Education (w!se) hosted its annual Scholars Reception to honor high school students who earned a score of 95% or higher on w!se’s 2016-17 national standardized Financial Literacy Certification Test. The Test is administered nationally each year in high schools that participate in w!se’s award-winning Financial Literacy Certification program.

The Reception was held at the majestic Museum of American Finance in New York City. Students received w!se’s National Scholars Award for their outstanding achievement; those who earned a perfect 100% score on the Test also received the “Centurion’s Honor Cord.”

 Featured speakers included Kamala Anantharam, Managing Director and Global Director of Internal Audit at PineBridge Investments and w!se Board Member and Vincent Ferrara, Personal Financial Representative at Allstate Insurance. Sahil Gupta and Will Holtz Office received awards for extraordinary service for their volunteer classroom teaching and for their role in founding a new financial literacy scholarship through w!se.

“These financial literacy scholars deserve a round of applause for their exceptional achievement on our Certification Test,” said w!se President & CEO Phyllis F. Perillo. “In today’s world, it is essential that all high school students are prepared for successful financial lives and we commend those high schools who are providing their students with a gift of a lifetime.”

Two of this year’s Scholars, Dylan Jorgensen from Glen Rock High School in Glen Rock, NJ and Nicholas Maya from Aviation High School in Queens, New York also shared their experiences with the w!se program and how the program has affected their own money habits.

Mr. Jorgensen said: “The most important thing I learned in w!se’s financial literacy program was nothing to do with the stock market and was something much more applicable to the average American—money management. I learned the importance of saving money and having an emergency fund. This was one set of skills that will be useful to me for a long time.”


About the w!se Financial Literacy Certification Program

The Financial Literacy Certification program is an innovative and high impact initiative in financial education designed to help high school students graduate financially literate. Participating schools teach a course on personal finance and then administer w!se’s nationally standardized Financial Literacy Certification Test. To support instruction, w!se provides professional development, a curriculum aligned to national and state standards and other value added teaching tools. A hallmark program feature is the w!se CFL™. Students who pass the Certification Test become Certified Financially Literate (CFL™). The program, now in 46 states, is rapidly growing and has become integral to personal finance instruction in thousands of classrooms. It is supported by leading U.S. institutions including the Allstate Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Voya Foundation, Valley National Bank, Synchrony Bank, Capital One, Santander Bank, Investors Bank, New York City Council, The Malone Family Foundation, and The Raymond J. and Mary C. Reisert Foundation.

About w!se

Working In Support of Education (w!se), a national educational not-for-profit, improves the lives of young people through programs that develop financial literacy and readiness for college and careers.

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