Tower-Summer 2019

SUMMER 2019 | TOWER 11 BY JEN A. MILLER Right now, there are more CFP professionals over the age of 70 than under the age of 30, and only 3.5 percent of all CFP professionals in the U.S. are black or Latino. Jobs are expected to grow by 30 percent in the next 10 years. — ACCORDING TO CNN MONEY AND THE CFP BOARD CENTER FOR FINANCIAL PLANNING. A PROGRAM THAT PAYS DIVIDENDS A s a wave of financial planners begin to retire, and masses of millennials and Generation Z need to plan for their financial future, who will be there to guide them? KU grads. Part of KU’s AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accredited College of Business, the university combined the curriculum required by the gold standard of financial planners and a series of high-intensity money managing opportunities to form a solid financial planning track. KU is one of a handful of universities in Pennsylvania that offers a major with a direct road to careers in Certified Financial Planning, including the rigorous education requirement to sit for the CFP board exam. Once students pass the exam, followed by fitness standards and background check, and get three years of experience under their belts, they become registered CFPs. “Getting the education requirement while you’re still an undergraduate is a tremendous benefit. If you don’t, you’ll have to get it while you’re working,” said Dr. Jonathan Kramer , CFP, professor of finance and chair of the CFP board- registered program at KU. That is the route he chose himself, and why he sees doing the CFP education at the same time as earning a degree as such a special experience. Combining undergraduate and CFP education to get professionals certified soon after graduation is also a way to meet a pressing need in the financial planning community for younger and diverse planning professionals. “Firms are looking to hire, and they’re very hungry for young people,” said Kramer. KU sophomore Nessa Cartagena of Bethlehem, Pa., was awarded the 2018 Enlightened Leadership Scholarship to attend KU. FILLING THE NEED FOR YOUNGER AND DIVERSE CFPs continued on page 12… ANONYMOUS DONORS FUND BUSINESS SCHOLARSHIP The Enlightened Leadership Scholarship is one of 18 scholarships offered by the Kutztown University College of Business. Established by anonymous donors, this scholarship provides a student the full cost of tuition, room and board, fees and incidental academic expenses. The eligible student must be enrolled in the College of Business, maintain a GPA of 3.0, and donate a minimum of 20 hours of advisor-approved community service with disadvantaged/special needs children. Nessa Cartagena (pictured), who was involved in numerous activities while a student at Bethlehem’s Liberty High School, including acting as the president of the Latino Leadership Club, was selected from among seven finalists and numerous students within a two-hour driving distance of the university.