Mary Bell became the program’s third doctoral graduate in 2013. She now serves as the Director of Program Development at the National Association of Counties (NACo) based in Washington, D.C.
She will be a presenter at the Tuesday, March 11, at the K-State Educational and Family Initiatives Symposium at Fort Riley. Her topic is “Game changers: How soldiers’ rank and deployment status affect their financial behaviors, knowledge and anxiety.”
For her dissertation, “The Financial Behaviors of Soldiers Before and After Retirement,” Bell surveyed more than 1,000 Ft. Riley solders pre- and post-deployment.Her committee members included co-chairs Sonya Britt and Briana Nelson Goff, as well as, Kristy Archuleta, Randy Eltringham and Cheryl Polson.Bell has been asked to present her research findings to the Pentagon, all four Service Branch headquarters, and Ft. Riley commanders.http://www.naco.org/Pages/default.aspx
The Personal Financial Planning team tied for third place in national competition at the national Financial Planning Association conference in Orlando in October. Team members were Sam Honey, left, Rashelle West and Jamie Engelken, all seniors. Their coach was Ann Coulson, assistant professor. K-State is the only university to send a team to the finals every year since the Financial Planning Challenge began in 2000.Students Cole Foster and Brooklyn Hnizdil, front row right, and Ann Coulson, assistant professor, were invited to attend the TD Ameritrade Conference in Orlando in January. Foster stands next to Tom Nally, president of TD Ameritrade Institutional. The students also interviewed vendors, made video interviews of attendees, and worked on community projects for Habitat for Humanity, United Way, and Special Olympics. Seventeen colleges and universities were represented at the conference. Mitt Romney and Sugar Ray Leonard were two of the speakers at the conference.
