A modern take on financial literacy

Deutsche Bank employees in New York traded their whiteboards for a smartboard, and boardrooms for a classroom, as they volunteered to teach financial literacy and career preparation to local high school students.

Coordinated by CSR Americas through its relationship with the nonprofit Working in Support of Education (W!se), employees from multiple businesses and infrastructure divisions have led a multi-week seminar entitled “Modern Finance” to seniors at The Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology (UAGateway), a high school located within walking distance from Deutsche Bank Center. The volunteers covered subjects such as the role of banks in the economy, time value of money, digital finance, and interviewing best practices.

UAGateway is one of 19 NYC schools affiliated with the W!se Institute program. The award-winning college and career readiness initiative engages volunteer professionals to teach students in school settings. W!se seminars are typically delivered in an eight-week-long format and integrated into the school curriculum. Volunteers bring their real-world knowledge and skills into classrooms to inspire, motivate and guide students through interactive sessions that develop their understanding of economics, finance, and more.

The Modern Finance seminar is unique in that it was designed by a now-former Deutsche Bank employee (who remains an active W!se volunteer and board member) to be more responsive to changes in financial services than traditional financial literacy curricula. Deutsche Bank volunteers not only breathe new life into important topics, but also discuss how current events affect the industry and how new technologies are transforming finance tools and careers. Individual workshops are regularly updated to reflect the latest information. To date, more than 1,000 students have participated in Deutsche Bank’s Modern Finance seminars through W!se.

Feedback from students demonstrates the course’s continued value.

• “It was very informative; I learned a lot.”
• “I liked how well everything was explained.”
• “I loved learning about various aspects of savings and how interest works.”
• “The instructors were understanding and taught the topics very well.”

Deutsche Bank also supports W!se around innovations to its Financial Literacy Certification program for high school students in 49 states. Notably, in 2019, more than 150 employees in four US locations participated in a hackathon event to help high school students prepare for W!se’s Financial Literacy Certification Test.