Empowering Students and Building Essential Skills – A personal reflection on being a King’s Student Money Mentor:
When I joined the Money Mentors project, one question persisted in my mind: What exactly does a Money Mentor do? The answer, as it turns out, is incredibly wide-ranging. The success of the project at King’s lies in its flexibility and the wide array of opportunities it presents.
Originally launched as a small project within the Money & Housing Advice Service at King’s College London in 2015, the King’s Student Money Mentors initiative has expanded significantly over the past eight years. Not only has the project grown in terms of the number of participants, but it has also evolved in the methods it employs to accomplish its mission of promoting student financial literacy.
What makes being a Money Mentor so unique is the absence of a rigid job list. Instead, it offers a dynamic platform where individuals can explore various roles based on their interests and strengths. Whether delving into social media management and honing marketing and design skills or taking the lead in organising and leading campaigns to flex their leadership muscles, Money Mentors have the freedom to adapt and seamlessly switch between roles, and we are encouraged greatly by our project leads to do so. This flexibility not only caters to the needs of busy students but also allows for the development of valuable skills that hold significance in the job market.
Furthermore, the multifaceted nature of the role ensures that Money Mentors are involved in every aspect of the team’s content production and distribution. This level of immersion enables us to create effective, relatable, and impactful materials that resonate with our fellow students. The content produced by the Money Mentors is not only informative but also highly relevant because it is created by students, for students. This collaborative approach brings together the diverse experiences and perspectives of the team, who, being students themselves from a wide range of backgrounds, can generate content that truly addresses the financial concerns and challenges faced by our peers.
Whenever the Money Mentors may lack in-depth technical financial knowledge, we can find support in the guidance and expertise of the Money & Housing Specialist Advisors, who provide us with the necessary insights to inform our content. This close relationship between the department and the student mentors is a huge factor in driving the project towards its ultimate goal of enhancing student financial literacy.
Becoming a Money Mentor goes beyond the role itself. It is a transformative journey that empowers individuals to develop invaluable skills, gain practical experience, and contribute to the betterment of their peers’ financial well-being by acting as confidants and friends in a way that university staff may not be able to do. Through this endeavour, we work towards a future where KCL students are equipped with the knowledge and tools to navigate their financial lives with confidence and success.
Yahye Mohamud & Shivam Chotai
King’s Student Money Mentors
Part of Money & Housing Advice
The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.