BY: CAMRYN HILL
A Cano Freshman Academy student, Briana Cavazos, was one in five gold winners in the Region One Millionaire’s Club competition, a six-week webinar budgeting simulation based on real life.
“Basically, in the competition, you choose your career, and you create your budget around that salary,” Cavazos said.
Several Cano Gear UP students participated in this program, increasing their knowledge of budgeting and financial literacy. Cavazos was named the campus winner and then advanced to the Region One Level Competition.
“Briana worked extremely hard in our afterschool Millionaire’s Club,” Cano Gear UP facilitator Esequiel Rodriguez said, “We hope that we are preparing her not only for college and career readiness, but also life, and that is what the Millionaire’s Club is all about.”
The Region One competition was held virtually due to the pandemic.
In this competition, students explored a potential career path, determined the associated entry-level salary, set aside money to pay themselves first, created an independent adult’s budget, and then showcased a final project to other participating GEAR UP districts from Brownsville to Laredo.
“The Deep South Texas Financial Literacy Alliance, a group of bankers, credit unions, and other financial partners judged the presentations,” Region One Education Specialist Kris McKinney said.
Cavazos was named a Gold Winner at the Region One Level Competition. She was celebrated at a small ceremony on April 21 where she was presented with a certificate and a Microsoft Surface.
“I didn’t expect it, honestly,” Cavazos said. “I went in thinking, ‘I am going to do this,”’ but I did not expect to be one of the top winners, and when I did, I was like ‘That’s pretty cool!”’
Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, Dr. Joseph Villarreal ended the ceremony with a message to Cavazos and her parents.
“I especially want to thank you, the parents, because you set the foundation for your daughter and all the great things that she does,” Dr. Villarreal said. “She has exceeded those expectations. Congratulations to you all, and we wish you the best of luck Briana.”
