Celebrating Our 2025 Thrive and Rise Through Learning Essay Contest Winners

Hannah Freeman - attends Biola University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

My community is a unique, diverse family full of members who are committed to one another. Growing up in a small town, I was constantly surrounded by people who I knew cared about me and supported me, both outside and inside my family. I am most proud of the selflessness and generosity of the people in my community. A year ago, tragedy struck my small town when a troubled teen took to the streets with two loaded rifles, killing three beloved community members. After the shooting, the community was disheartened and grieving. Several organizations came together to raise funds for first responders and medical personnel at the center of the chaos and grieving. As a member of a local service organization, UMattR (You Matter), I joined forces with these organizations to help support our grieving community during this tragic circumstance. My group raised money to put together gift baskets and personalized cards for each police officer who responded to the tragedy, as well as gifts for all of the first-responder officers across the county. I am deeply grateful for the first-hand opportunity that I was given to help members of my community who were facing extreme tragedy.

My parents have always taught me that the greatest benefit of financial stability is creating the opportunity to be inexcusably generous. As I have grown older and begun to manage my own finances, my goal remains to become financially stable enough to give back generously to my community. I have learned that one of the best ways to maintain control of my finances is to create a monthly budget. As a current freshman in college, budgeting money has become more essential than ever. In my first semester at Biola University, I was faced with the difficult task of managing a tight budget in a highly inflated economy while surviving on the money that I had saved up the prior summer. Upon entering college, I almost immediately acquired a nannying job that allowed me to set a monthly budget of $500, including all of my expenses outside of tuition, room, and board.

I quickly learned that $500 does not leave a large margin for extra spending, particularly when I am faced with unexpected charges, such as parking fees, club dues, and updated lacrosse equipment. Learning how to balance my spending and restrict myself to a limited budget has been crucial to my construction of healthy financial habits. Knowing the benefit of organizing my money into three compartments, spending, saving, and giving, has continued to be extremely beneficial. I believe that budgeting and living by the budget is the most important form of financial literacy. As I continue into my next few years of college, it will become increasingly beneficial to build strong financial habits, primarily budgeting my money, so that I can prepare myself to be financially independent and stable in the future.

Solomon Gbara - attends the University of New Mexico, pursuing a bachelor's degree in Business Administration.

Two years ago, my world was upended when my mother and four younger siblings faced housing insecurity and were forced to search for a new home with a temporary voucher. I became their primary support, rising at 5 AM daily to work, driving them to distant jobs, and tirelessly searching for properties. This relentless pace, fueled by fear and determination, left me with little time or financial capacity. My summer expenses skyrocketed, and a $1,000 bursar hold prevented my fall enrollment.

Ironically, as my personal financial crisis unfolded, I became Executive Director for the Center for Financial Capability (CFC) at UNM. Despite feeling underqualified, with earnings consumed by expenses, I viewed this role as an urgent opportunity to apply the lessons I desperately needed. My inability to clear the bursar hold threatened my job; UNM leadership required class registration, forcing a confrontation with my struggles. My financial burden made me acutely aware of others' needs. To “pay it forward,” I realized I first had to master the principles I was meant to teach. I couldn’t allow financial precarity to derail my education or my family’s stability again. I swallowed my pride, laid bare my financial despair to my partner, and asked for immediate help.

In my CFC role, I translated lived experience into meaningful action. I trained as a financial educator, providing one-on-one consultations, seeing firsthand how a single budgeting conversation could transform a student's semester. Witnessing the tangible impact of my work to establish CFC’s foundational services and develop tools like the budget calculator was deeply affirming. Knowing that scheduling barriers often impaired students, I implemented a Microsoft Bookings system, allowing instant time slot reservations. This meant students secured help and learned about scholarships days earlier.

In fall 2024, I oversaw surveys measuring student stress before and after our workshops; scores fell 31%, from 5.3 to 3.7 on a 10-point scale. Ninety percent of participants rated our help 4.5/5, a stark contrast to my past anxieties. One student, for instance, arrived with a 2.3 GPA and a $500 late fee. We located an emergency grant application and set up a payment plan that afternoon; by week's end, she was enrolled in the courses she needed to graduate. This outcome embodied my philosophy on impact and personal alignment with helping others. I realized money is a tool: used wisely, it opens doors, and used carelessly it creates barriers.

Reflecting on my journey navigating a personal financial crisis to empowering peers with budgeting, I understand true financial fitness transcends numbers. It’s the confidence gained from knowing someone cares enough to show the ropes. By teaching workshops, designing efficient systems, and guiding students to emergency resources, I truly lived out “people helping people”. Having learned these lessons, I understand the importance of empowering young adults to control their finances. Whatever future opportunities I pursue, I am determined to help others, especially young people with the courage to learn and apply personal finance basics.

Gia Padilla - attends the University of New Mexico, pursuing a bachelor's degree in Biology/Pre-Medicine.

Softball has been more than just a game to me during my life, it's been a means of discipline, confidence, and community. By the time I got to the University of New Mexico, I knew that I wanted to give that experience to someone else, especially kids who might not have had the same experiences that I've been blessed to have. That's why I started offering free softball lessons to younger players in my community, girls whose families can't afford expensive coaching or camps.

It's something I like to do, not just because I love teaching the game, but because I know how much a mentor can mean to a young player. I recall being that young girl who so badly wanted to make the team but didn't always believe in herself. Older players were a help to me, and now it's my turn to give back. Sometimes we barely talk softball. We occasionally talk about school, their goals, or just life. Helping them to build confidence, both on and off the field, is what really matters to me.

The same attitude of preparation and responsibility has also shaped how I approach college financing, too. Even before starting my first semester, I made it a point to learn about managing finances. I researched scholarships, applied to as many as l could, and worked a part-time job to build up savings. I created a budget my senior year of high school that I still use today, balancing the cost of school with personal expenses like food, parking, and textbooks. Honestly, it wasn't always fun making certain sacrifices to save money, however I knew why I was doing it.

One of the smartest things I've done so far is to open a separate graduate school savings account. It's my dream to someday be a doctor, and I know that medical school will be a huge investment. It makes me feel empowered to be planning for that eventual day now, even when other things feel overwhelming. I've also taken advantage of financial literacy workshops on campus, in which I've learned about things like credit scores, how to avoid debt, and how to save long-term. Those are not only college skills-they are life skills.

Passing along those lessons to younger athletes makes me understand that any success does not occur alone. Just as I have had mentors throughout my journey, I would like to be that for someone else.

That's also why the credit union philosophy of "people helping people" means so much to me. It's how I try to live my life, lifting others up where I can, while putting myself in position to do the work in the world that I want to do. Being a doctor is about service. Coaching is about service, and college savings is about building a future where I can keep on serving others, wherever life takes me.