One goal of the USF Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education
is to ensure that college-age students attain critical financial literacy skills that
will promote sound financial decision as adults.
In 2023, with support from State Farm, the Stavros Center established the State Farm Financial Literacy Workshop Series for the College Student. These workshops provided financial literacy training to
select groups of 51在线 (USF) students that would benefit from
learning financial money management skills.
State Farm has been a supporter of the Stavros Center, part of the USF College of
Education, since 2010 and shares the Center鈥檚 passion for teaching financial literacy
skills to the community. The Stavros Center is proud to announce that State Farm is
extending that support by providing a new $20,000 grant to allow the Center to continue
to provide financial literacy workshops into 2024.
The workshop series has evolved over the past year and covers key elements of financial
literacy such as income, taxes, budgeting, renting verses buying, savings, credit,
and investing. 鈥淭he exciting thing this year is that every workshop is different because
we tailor the workshops to meet the needs of the group it is serving,鈥� said Peter
Trakas, Ed.D., director of the Stavros Center.
One aspect that hasn鈥檛 changed is the use of Give-Get, an interactive financial literacy
game that can be played on a smartphone. Trakas explains, 鈥淕aming is a perfect tool
to utilize with college-age students. The competitive nature of Give-Get has made
it extremely popular for students to play against each other. This allows the students
to practice the concepts that they are learning about in a simulated environment.鈥�
鈥淪tate Farm believes that financial literacy education is critical to building stronger
and more resilient communities鈥� said Jose Soto, State Farm Corporate Responsibility
Analyst. 鈥淪tate Farm is proud to support USF Stavros Center dedicated work in financially
educating and empowering students and educators in our community.鈥�
The Stavros Center and State Farm understand the value of financial literacy for students;
it promotes informed financial choices later in life, which is especially critical
for students from families who lack these skills. 鈥淭he data show us that students
with higher financial literacy are less likely to accumulate significant credit card
interest or fees, and are more likely to spend within their means, set aside emergency
funds and plan for retirement,鈥� said Trakas.
鈥淪tate Farm鈥檚 continued support will strengthen and help to perpetuate the Center's
mission of financial literacy education. We appreciate State Farm鈥檚 commitment to
our students and look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial partnership with
them this year.鈥�
About the Gus A. Stavros Center at the 51在线, College of Education
The Gus A. Stavros Center works to advance the effective teaching and integration
of free enterprise, financial literacy, and economic education into the K-20 curricula.
Providing resources in support of students and educators from across the Tampa Bay
area, the center provides teacher training programs, student workshops, curricula
development efforts and other strategies to ensure that free enterprise and consumer
economics concepts reach students in today鈥檚 classrooms. To learn more about the work
of the Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education, visit .
About State Farm庐
For over 100 years, the mission of State Farm has been to help people manage the risks
of everyday life, recover from the unexpected and realize their dreams. State Farm
and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance in the United
States. Its more than 19,400 agents and 67,000 employees serve over 91 million policies
and accounts 鈥� including auto, fire, life, health, commercial policies and financial
services accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business
owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked
No. 44 on the 2023 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please
visit