We are excited to announce the November 2025 Financial Goals Scholarship winner is Ryan! Congratulations!
"I am incredibly honored to be selected as a winner of the 1st Financial Bank USA Financial Goals Scholarship. This recognition not only makes the financial burden of college easier to manage, but it also motivates me to continue to prioritize my financial freedom during my graduate studies. I am truly grateful for this support and the opportunity to further my education." - Ryan C.
Everyone slips up sometimes, but money mistakes can feel especially stressful when you’re managing your finances for the first time. Maybe you went $100 over budget, missed an important payment, or purchased something you now regret. In his essay, Ryan shares a financial mistake he made in college, what he learned, and how it changed how he handle's money today.
"Life was great as a high school student. Some people saw it as a chaotic cycle; others viewed it as a strict routine. Each morning, my alarm would go off, and I would drag myself to class, hoping I had enough time to stop at Dunkin’ on the way. Most of my class time was spent scrolling through the Ticketmaster or Calvin Klein websites, looking for the next concert I would attend and deciding which outfit to wear. After that, I would stop at the vending machine before practice to “fuel up,” as I liked to call it, though it was really just an excuse to grab another snack. At practice, I would lace up the newest, most expensive skates because I convinced myself that spending hundreds of dollars would help me “perform.” After all of that, I would head to work and spend the last six hours of my day taking orders in a drive-through.
This cycle was great … until it wasn’t. One day, I came home to a letter addressed to me from my job. Inside was my W-2 form. To my surprise, it stated that I had earned nearly twenty thousand dollars that year at just seventeen years old. I was ecstatic! I could buy another hockey stick or get front-row seats at a Bruins game! But my excitement quickly faded when I opened my banking app for the first time in over a year. The three-digit balance on the screen didn’t match the five-digit income on my tax form. After looking closer, I was devastated. The daily Dunkin’ trips and excessive shopping sprees had drained nearly every dollar I had earned.
From that point on, I began tracking every dollar coming in and out of my account. I couldn’t undo my past spending, but I could change my future habits. I taught myself the basics of financial literacy and committed to making more informed decisions. I am far from perfect, I still make questionable purchases, and I still wish my Roth IRA had a higher balance, but I now have financial confidence that I believe will one day grow into financial freedom.
I plan to attend graduate school to earn my M.Ed. in Teaching Education. As a future teacher, one of my first initiatives will be to improve the financial literacy of American youth. Adolescents are entering a world where they can spend thousands of dollars with just a few taps on their phones. It is essential for the next generation to become students of financial literacy, whether through the curriculum or through extracurricular opportunities.”
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.
