What if there was an opportunity for students to simulate a real-world working environment, gaining valuable experience? The Seattle University Credit Union Initiative (SUCUI) is a student-run not-for-profit program that aims to help students run financial cooperatives.
Cisco Smith, the program advisor, is the adjunct professor and chairman of the initiative. He has 20 years of experience in the credit union space and graduated from Seattle U with a degree in political science.
Smith has long aimed to help create a program in which students can gain useful financial experience to aid them in the real world. He was inspired as an undergraduate at Seattle U to create a credit union run by students. The idea came to him when he visited Georgetown University (GU) and saw that they had a student credit union.
After visiting the Student Union Building on a tour at GU, Smith noticed a poster on the window with the caption ‘ How would you like to be CEO of a multimillion-dollar financial institution before you graduate?’ Seeing this, he knew he had struck gold.
“I remember asking the student tour guide. ‘Excuse me, but what’s that?’ And she says, ‘Oh, that’s our completely student-run and operated credit union. Yes, they’re running a financial institution like a bank and there’s a student, CEO all the way down.’ Light bulb!” Smith said.
Smith worked on making this project come to life, securing funding after pitching the idea to the administration. With a small student team, the SUCUI program started its inauguration in January 2024.
The team consists mainly of students, including Emma Nguyen, Clark Hayashi and Ana Giordano. The team, each with their executive role, specializes in their field to help build skills in the proper workplace.
Nguyen, a third-year individualized business major and the chief executive officer of SUCUI, shared how the program works in favor of students.
“One of the main things that we talk about is the benefits that students get for working internally within our organization. Cisco mentioned how our overhead costs are a lot lower, because we don’t have paid employees. All the students that work internally are referred to more as student interns, and so they aren’t paid like in a typical job that you would work. We get a lot of other different benefits,” Nguyen said.
Some benefits Nguyen discussed include academic credit for each quarter, working for the program, skill building and resume skills. Additionally, the club offers many internship opportunities and other benefits for most majors, thanks to Smith’s extensive network.
The club is trying to emphasize financial literacy, a vital part of a student’s career, both in and out of college.
Clark Hayashi, a third-year business analytics and marketing double major and the chief operating officer, shared the importance of financial literacy at SUCUI.
“Our goal for people who come [is]we want them to have the knowledge to make the right decisions, budget correctly, understand what is a credit card and what is a debit card and to be successful when they end up leaving college because as you know, college is super expensive and want to make the most out of the investment,” Hayashi said.
SUCUI holds a meeting every Friday, which anyone can attend by requesting online on their website, www.sucui.org. The program will hold its first formal event April 24 in the student center, focusing on understanding credit.
SUCUI is a space meant for students to gain education on finances and credit. The initiative also provides a space for students to experience real-life business, marketing, accounting and much more. SUCUI aims to help develop skills for the future, a future where students can be properly educated about their investments and finances.
