Throughout October, Matthew Conner ’26 created and ran a student-led finance course titled “Teen Financial Literacy 101,” which aimed to simplify complex finance topics for younger students. The class met on Wednesdays at the Moorestown Library.
With attendees from five different schools, including Doane Academy, Moorestown High School, Cinnaminson, William Allen Middle School, and Moorestown Friends School, Conner’s finance course covered topics such as investing, budgeting, and finding a job. By the end of October, he had completed teaching five courses at the Moorestown Library and plans to teach courses at the Cherry Hill Library.
Conner created the course after he observed that students at MFS were not financially literate and “wanted to teach students the basics.”
“It wasn’t because students weren’t interested. It was just [that] they didn’t engage properly with the material in the past, and they’ve seen on social media or online and think that investing in personal finances seems too complicated,” Conner stated.
When Arianna (Ari) Arzu ’26 was introduced to the course, she thought it was a great idea.
“[Matthew] told me his goal was to inform people about financial topics that aren’t always taught or discussed among our age groups. When I arrived in his class, it felt professional and fun; it exceeded my expectations for sure.”
Additionally, he was further inspired by taking the “Analytical Approaches to Teaching Math” course led by alum Mason Levens ’25, which was a part of Levens’s capstone project last year. Conner stated that this class led him to shape the course around collaborative learning and active engagement.
“When I first mentioned my program to administration [at MFS], I made it clear that what Mason did last year for analytical math was inspiring,” said Conner, “not necessarily in material, but how he was able to get students just to engage.”
After finalizing the curriculum that he had been drafting since March, Conner presented in front of the Teen Advisory Board, the advisors at the Moorestown Library, and the board of the Moorestown Library for approval.
During the course meetings, financial planner Jorge Arroyo attended and helped lead the meetings as a guest speaker. Conner stated that Arroyo was a very “helpful” and experienced speaker, leading many of the attendees to return for future sessions.
“A few students specifically mentioned [Arroyo’s] lesson about financial planning and how it was really impactful, and that was why they wanted to learn more.”
Allan Wang ’26 also attended the sessions and found it to be a helpful learning experience.
“His guest speaker gave a very helpful perspective on the importance of investment as a youth, and how to do it properly,” Wang said.
Andrew (Drew) Matta ’26 added to that sentiment, stating that the format and perspective of the class were an interesting highlight.
“I wouldn’t say [the course] differed too heavily [from previous courses]; however, being taught by a person my age was very interesting. Most lessons are taught by people with degrees or years of knowledge, so getting a fresh perspective definitely made the class feel different.”
Academic Dean Meredith Godley also attended one of Conner’s courses and enjoyed the experience.
“I think [Matthew’s course] is a reflection of the message that kids receive from the school that we want to support their initiatives; whether they fall into an initiative that directly correlates to a program we already have, like Capstone, or it’s something that they really have designed on their own outside of all of that,” Godley said.
Upper School Finance Teacher Scott Hanson added that Conner’s interactive class format, such as giving students candy to represent investing and having Harkness-style lessons, is a nice addition to the course.
“His structure was really fun and got a lot of discussions, and I think we do do a little bit of that already in our finance class. His particular layout was really fun and focused, and I think that we could probably bring some of those tools to further enhance our curriculum.”
