FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2025
Media Contact:
LuWanna Williams
478-258-0145
College Students Take the Lead in Preparing Their Peers for Financial Success
Competition sponsored by the Center for Financial Advancement®, HomeFree-USA and Experian highlights student solutions to credit challenges.
Landover, MD – Learning to use credit wisely is a rite of passage for young adults that can have major benefits. The Center for Financial Advancement® (CFA), HomeFree-USA and Experian are helping college students rise to the challenge through the 3rd Annual Experian #IYKYK PitchCompetition. Through the contest, students will come up with unique ways to make credit accessible and understandable to their peers.
The final round of this year’s competition will take place between February 28 – March 4 and will feature teams from Talladega College, Fisk University, and Bowie State University. Students will pitch creative solutions to real-world financial challenges that their peers face every day.
“Knowing how to manage credit is a skill that is fundamental to personal and professional success,” says Gwen Garnett, Managing Director of Center for Financial Advancement®. “The students participating in the Experian #IYKYK PitchCompetition are not only strengthening their own financial knowledge, but they are helping their peers across the country become more credit savvy.”
Last year’s winner, a team from Bowie State University, created a solution to help young adults overcome student loan debt, a burden that many graduates face, says team member Taylor Payton. “Our solution, the Lotus Wallet app, was designed to supply users with personalized financial plans, combining human and AI advisors to guide them toward debt-free futures.”
The winning team will take home a $40,000 prize. The competition is just one way that Center for Financial Advancement® and HomeFree-USA are working to create paths to homeownership for students by providing financial education, professional development and career growth opportunities. “We are bringing financial education to the homeowners and business leaders of tomorrow,” says Garnett.
About Center for Financial Advancement® Program
Established in 2017 at Fisk University, the Center for Financial Advancement® program aims to enhance financial literacy, professional development, leadership, and homeownership knowledge among students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Founded by visionaries Jim and Marcia Griffin, with Gwen Garnett as Executive Director and Nicholas Whiteside as Student Director and the program’s first scholar, the initiative grew through visits to HBCU campuses to promote financial freedom. The curriculum and partner programs have grown, reaching 16 HBCUs by 2024, demonstrating its commitment to financial empowerment and leadership. The program continues to thrive and aims to further expand its impact in the future.
About HomeFree-USA
Marcia and Jim Griffin launched HomeFree-USA in 1994 with a vision to close the wealth gap by giving people the guidance they need to achieve and sustain homeownership. As the owners of the first and largest African American mortgage servicing company in the country, National Loan Service Center, Jim and Marcia were devastated by the high rates of default among borrowers. Thirty years later, HomeFree-USA is still on the frontlines serving the diverse interests of 6.3 million consumers through its national intermediary network. We connect government, the real estate finance industry, and consumers to create new homebuyers, sustainable homeowners, affordable homes and revitalized communities.
About Experian
Experian is a global data and technology company, powering opportunities for people and businesses around the world. We help to redefine lending practices, uncover and prevent fraud, simplify healthcare, deliver digital marketing solutions, and gain deeper insights into the automotive market, all using our unique combination of data, analytics and software. We also assist millions of people to realize their financial goals and help them to save time and money. We operate across a range of markets, from financial services to healthcare, automotive, agribusiness, insurance, and many more industry segments. We invest in talented people and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data and innovate. As a FTSE 100 Index company listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN), we have a team of 22,500 people across 32 countries. Our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. Learn more at experianplc.com.