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We are excited to announce the June 2025 Financial Goals Scholarship winner is Brittany! Congratulations!
"I am incredibly grateful to be selected as the June winner of the 1st Financial Bank USA Financial Goals Scholarship. At a time when pursuing higher education is becoming more of a privilege and less accessible for so many, support from organizations like yours makes my dreams feel possible. This scholarship not only eases the financial burden but also renews my hope and determination to keep pushing forward. Thank you for believing in students like me and investing in our futures." - Brittany E.
Everyone’s version of financial security is different. For some, it’s having the ability to afford housing, build savings, and enjoy a quiet life without debt. For others, it might mean traveling the world, owning a luxury car, and never having to check a price tag. In her essay, Brittany shares what "having enough" looks like for her and how she's working today to make her vision a reality.
"It was never about the shoes.
But at eleven years old, it felt like it was.
I still remember sitting at the corner of the lunch table, folding and unfolding the same peanut butter sandwich as I watched my classmates twirl in new dresses, clack across the cafeteria tiles in shiny name-brand sneakers, and compare lip glosses pulled from glittery makeup bags. I didn’t have any of those things. My mother, the sole provider, made sure the bills were paid and our bellies were full, but we wore thrifted shirts, used up every last drop of toothpaste, and made hair products stretch until payday.
I tried not to look at their shoes. Instead, I looked up and saw a poster above the water fountain that read: “Thirty years from now, it won’t matter what shoes you wore, how your hair looked, or the jeans you bought. What will matter is what you learned and how you used it.”
I didn’t understand the full weight of that quote back then. But I felt it. It wrapped around my small shoulders like a quiet promise that while we weren’t rich in dollars, we were abundant in something far more powerful: dreams, drive, and dignity.
So I leaned into my books. I found joy in stories, built resilience through equations, and filled journals with the life I imagined: one where I would wear a white coat, carry a stethoscope, and use my knowledge to heal others. A life where my worth would never be measured in labels, but in lives touched and communities served.
Today, “having enough” still doesn’t mean luxury. It means liberation. It’s walking into the grocery store without calculating every item in my head. It’s being able to care for my family the way my mother cared for me, fiercely and selflessly, without fear of the lights going out. It means having a home filled not with expensive things, but with peace, safety, and soft joy. It means being able to rest, not just sleep, but rest, without worry about rent, medical bills, or gas prices.
To make that future real, I’ve built a system rooted in that childhood wisdom. I budget carefully. I apply for every scholarship I can, like this one. I split my income into necessities, savings, and giving, because even with little, I believe in giving back. I take financial literacy seriously, using tools to track my credit, automate savings, and avoid unnecessary debt. I say no to comparison and yes to purpose.
Because thrifted shirts raised a visionary. Because empty pockets never meant empty potential.
Because the girl who once dreamed at the lunch table is now an incoming medical student, still chasing the same vision, still guided by that same poster’s truth. And even now, I know:
It was never about the shoes.
It was always about the steps.”
Established in the year 1910, 1st Financial Bank USA (1FBUSA) provides quality community banking services in South Dakota, credit card and other financial services to college students and college graduates, and construction lending to builders, developers, and investors from coast to coast. 1FBUSA will award a $2,000 scholarship to a new winner each month. View full rules and eligibility at 1fbusascholarship.com.
