FSOS faculty and students shine at national financial literacy conference
Virginia Solis Zuiker, associate professor in Family Social Science, and Miguel Quiñones, and Hanna Yu, FSOS Phd students, (all pictured above) presented and picked up awards at the 2023 Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education® Symposium in New Orleans.
A symposium presentation submitted by Quiñones won the 2023 Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education® Symposium "Putting It into Practice Award." He led a session on “What Is ‘Culturally Relevant’ Financial Education, Really? Bridging Theory and Practice” at the annual symposium. His research explores Latino family well-being and how Latino families’ socioeconomic situation affect their financial practices. His presentation reviewed the current scholarly literature on effective financial education and showcases a recent research project conducted in partnership with Joyce Serido, professor emerita.
A paper co-authored and co-presented by Yu, Zuiker, and alumna Yiting Li, "Examining Financial Anxiety Through Cognitive Appraisals and Coping during a Global Pandemic," won the AFCPE's Outstanding Student Paper award. They examined possible associations between financial anxiety and cognitive processes, economic adjustment strategies, and receiving a stimulus check during a global pandemic to understand financial anxiety in times of uncertainty.
Yu, presenting at her first national conference, shared she was nervous going into the symposium but received positive feedback on the practical information in her research.
"I noticed the interconnectedness of knowledge-sharing: researchers learned and studied, then shared their research findings with practitioners. In turn, these practitioners applied what they learned from the findings to benefit their clients," says Yu. "It's rewarding to witness practitioners using measurements developed by researchers in their practice. Researchers were also eager to listen to practitioners' needs for future research and their insights on the results.
"Furthermore, it was a great learning opportunity to understand how researchers can deliver their findings more efficiently to practitioners. I also observed increasing interest in topics such as cultural diversity in financial education (Great job, Miguel), the role of faith in financial behavior, Fintech, long-term care, extensions of previous works, and older adults. I hope to incorporate them into my future research!"
More about AFCPE
The Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education® (AFCPE®) is a professional association that ensures the highest level of knowledge, skill, and integrity of the personal finance profession by certifying, connecting, and supporting diverse and capable professionals who serve communities worldwide. The Department of Family Social Science has the only approved undergraduate program in Minnesota. Learn more about becoming an Accredited Financial Counselor.