On Saturday, the School of Business’ Eighth Hyperion Council and United Black Students joined together to hold a carnival for young students at the Overtown Youth Center in Miami.
The youth center’s parking lot was filled with UM volunteers and young students who enjoyed bounce houses, music and even sumo wrestling.
The purpose of the event was to teach the kids the fundamentals of financial literacy and teamwork. Throughout the morning, there was tutoring for kids of all ages who wanted help with their schoolwork.
The experience touched many of the UM student volunteers.
“I remember one student answering an essay prompt which stated what they wanted to change this world and he wrote, ‘I want to change violence in my community,’” said senior Jordan Chadsey, a council member.
The 18 members of the council who attended were all busy working with kids at the educational booths that were set up around the carnival.
“The council is really committed to transferring the information they are learning in the classroom to communities in the real world,” said Ellen McPhillip, assistant dean of undergraduate business programs and adviser to the Hyperion Council. The group, made of of top business students, has been involved in off-campus community projects for years.
To council members, financial literacy is a mindset. In teaching the kids at the youth center what it means to have a budget, they learn important lessons at a young age and can pass them on to future generations.
“Our goal is to start teaching Peter how to fish rather than giving Peter a fish,” McPhillip said.
The council set up two booths at the carnival, one with a game closely resembling the game-show Jeopardy and another called the “human knot,” which encouraged teamwork. Jeopardy covered various topics and allowed the young students to explore more topics such as ethics, applying to college and starting a business. The human knot promoted accomplishment through teamwork, with students coming together in a circle and untangling themselves without letting go of each other’s hands.
“By providing these kids with early exposure to these topics, we can help them make the right financial decisions and help the communities in our area,” said senior Kyle Harke, the council’s student coordinator for this event.
Gabriel Baca may be contacted at gbaca@themiamihurricane.com.