Located in between the auditorium and the guidance office, not many people are aware of our schools credit union. The CFE (central Florida educators) credit union is a legitimate credit union that functions in locations on Alafaya, lake Mary, and on the UCF campus plus 13 other locations. Something special about the CFE is that they allow students to have paid and unpaid internships, while giving students job experience and customer service skills, they also trust and allow these students to self run the bank.

Senior Nia Lawson states “The CFE is an amazing place that I wish more people knew about.” Lawson commented that sometimes people come in lost and confused about what the room is for. She wishes that the school advertised the Credit Union more often and it brought awareness to it which would open more accounts. Finally she comments “The CFE gives kids an opportunity to be responsible for their own money.”

Head teller  Mindy Lieu has been working at our credit union for 4 years. In an interview she informed me that not even some of the teachers know what we are. “ I had an admin come in here one year and ask where our teacher was and I had to tell him that this is a student run bank.” If our staff could be better educated about what our credit union is, then they could advertise to their students and therefore more students could open accounts and learn responsibility.

If you stop by and walk inside the bank, as the tellers greet you, you should ask for an application to open an account. Your high school account doesn’t need your parents’ approval, in fact, it could just be you on the account. You can sign up for a checkings account and receive a debit card, it is so easy and most people don’t know it’s even there. It takes less than 24 hours to create, and the account lasts with you even after you graduate. I hope you stop by today from 4th-7th period and check it out.