Trustmark Community Market President Archie Anderson visited Meridian High School recently to kick off the Trustmark Financial Scholars Program. This online program, powered by EVERFI, teaches students financial concepts for effective money management that can be applied now and in the future. Trustmark is a founding member of Mississippi State Treasurer Lynn Fitch’s financial education initiative: Treasurer’s Education About Money, a public-private partnership that includes local communities, businesses, nonprofits and educators all aimed at improving Mississippi’s financial literacy.

“Our mission is to better the financial well-being of the communities that we serve, and this financial education initiative is a key piece of Trustmark’s larger commitment to the Meridian community,” Anderson said in a press release. “At Trustmark, we believe it is important for young people to learn the fundamentals of money management early in life. This online program provides students with the knowledge, skills and competencies to apply toward their future financial decisions.”

The program features an interactive, new-media learning platform specifically designed to introduce financial literacy skills and build financial capacity necessary to assist high school students as they transition into adulthood.

Through the web-based course, students are immersed in real-life financial scenarios and documentation. Each of the course modules allows students to move at their own pace, providing bite-sized instructional animations that make the topics approachable and relatable. In-depth processes – like buying a car or filling out the FAFSA form – are broken down for the student in an easy-to-understand way. Additional topics include understanding a paystub, savings and investing and banking basics.

The platform uniquely tracks the progress and performance of every student. Educators are able to see real-time data on student performance, while the technology aggregates crucial data on hours of learning completed and knowledge gained.

Trustmark Corporation is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Jackson, with more than 200 locations in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.