MoneyLion recently teamed up with Play Like a Girl to do a deep dive with middle school girls (ages 10 to 13) on STEM+ and finance. During this four-week online program, attendees created and presented their own digital financial tools for a grand prize of $1,000, which will help further develop their business ideas and bring them to market. Under the guidance of MoneyLion mentors – Aaliyah Buchann, Anscia Brown, Sarah Sprague, Yamilex Nunez and Jenny Pysh — these young women presented what they created to the MoneyLion team. This gave them an important opportunity to hone their communication, marketing, technology, legal, and finance skills — skills rarely taught in middle school — and the results were astonishing.
4 roaring weeks
With the help of the MoneyLion team, participants received more than the tools to succeed. Sarah Sprague, Senior Product Manager at MoneyLion, introduced the participants to the importance of product in any business. Erica Knauss, Product Designer, captured the attention of the group by presenting the core purpose of a website and the importance of its visual look and feel. Melissa Thompson, Senior Marketing Manager, pulled everything together by demonstrating how all these considerations relate to the capstone project from a marketing perspective. Nancy Lee, Senior Counsel at MoneyLion, taught the group how legal ties in a financial business.
Play Like a Girl x Women Who Roar
Play Like a Girl is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching girls about science, technology, math, and more (STEM+). It envisions a world where all girls have the confidence and opportunity to become unstoppable women. These core values align with MoneyLion’s Women Who Roar mission; which helps women find career tips, discuss issues such as financial wellness, and connect on new job opportunities. Check out Cheddar’s interview with Play Like a Girl’s CEO and founder, Dr. Kim Clay.
Capstone project
The Play Like a Girl capstone projects ranged from financial budgeting websites to business models for teaching other young children about finances. They presented their websites over Zoom, and received feedback from MoneyLion employees, including the Chief Marketing Officer, Bill Davaris, and the Chief Credit Officer, Jerry Weiss.
The first place group, Celsie P., Brooklyn F., and Hailey P. was awarded $1,000. Sasha E. placed second and won $750 and Olivia B. won third place with $300. All participants went home with their own iPad Minis. Congratulations to all the girls that completed their capstones!
MoneyLion is proud to support financial growth in diverse communities through partnerships like the STEM+ Summer Challenge Program. We are committed to expanding this opportunity to a larger audience in the future — and creating enriching and rewarding experiences for everyone.
