Alumni and Friends,
It has been another amazing fall for Personal Financial Planning! Our students continue to excel on-campus and across the country. It is my pleasure to share updates with you on our doctoral program, enrollment and conferences and competitions.
It has been an exciting start to the 2019-2020 school year for the Personal Financial Planning program! There have been some major milestones, name changes, new spaces, and amazing student victories. The College of Human Ecology was officially renamed the College of Health and Human Sciences as of June 1st, 2019, updating it to better reflect the variety and rigor of the programs offered within. Continue reading “A Message from the Advisory Board”
The K-State FPA Chapter has had a busy first semester of the 2019-2020 school year. The chapter attended the FPA of Wichita Networking Event to connect with professionals in the industry and seek out possible internships and job opportunities. Fifteen students from group also traveled to the National FPA Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota October 15-18. Continue reading “FPA Update”
The PFP Peer Mentor Program started in the 2017-2018 school year and has only grown since. The program kicked off the Fall semester under new leadership with Philip Wegman as President and Emma Hahn as Vice President. The peer mentors are grateful for Jill Parker being hired on full-time within the PFP Program and her guidance in developing the Peer Mentor program has been extraordinary. At the beginning of the semester, the program completed training with one returning peer counselor and nine new counselors. The twelve peer counselors are taking on the responsibility of mentoring around forty PFP students. The goal of the program is to help connect upperclassman with underclassmen and assist those who are new to the program become more fully integrated into the Financial Planning profession, both in class and off-campus. Continue reading “Peer Mentor Program Update”
Jill Parker joined the Personal Financial Planning (PFP) program full-time starting in July 2019. She is excited to provide specialized support to our current students, which will include academic advising, proactive student outreach, career counseling, and professional development opportunities. She is also looking forward to building strong connections with high schools and community colleges to increase students’ awareness of financial planning as a career and encourage them to attend K-State to be a part of our outstanding PFP program. Jill has worked in higher education for 20 years in both academic advising and career services. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology, and her master’s and education specialist degrees in counseling and human systems with specializations in mental health and career counseling, all from Florida State University.
Derek R. Lawson, Ph.D., CFP®, defended his dissertation in early September and will officially graduate this December. Derek is also active in providing financial planning services to clients, serving as a Partner and financial planner for Priority Financial Partners, based in Durango, CO. They serve clients nationally via virtual financial planning. Prior to pursuing a doctorate, he worked for a small, fee-only firm, Sonas Financial, based in Kansas City, MO. He has an extensive background in the industry, having served as Secretary for the National FPA NexGen group, Treasurer of the Financial Therapy Association, and as the Social Media & Marketing Strategist for the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors Genesis group. Continue reading “Welcome our newest professor-Derek Lawson”
It has been a busy fall semester, with students winning awards, traveling the country and with new faces on campus. I have included a variety of links to Personal Financial Planning in the News below, so you can catch up on all of our activities.
Foremost, we are growing, as the number of undergraduate PFP majors has increased by 22 students from fall 2017. This trend is especially noticeable among younger students, as direct freshman enrollees increased by five. This is representative of an increased understanding of financial planning as a career path and the growth of the CFP® Designation. This growth is program wide, as our master’s program grew by 40% in the same time period. Continue reading “Director’s Message”