Bankers’ lessons add up for UCMS math students
Guest speakers give 6th graders direction for now, future (Feb. 8, 2021)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UNION CITY SCHOOLS
CONTACT: Mike Hutchens
Communications Director
Lessons on ‘checks’ and ‘balances’ were part of Jennifer Bruff’s Advanced 6th-grade math classes last week.
The final exam will be given both later and in adult life.
Local banker Tommy Gurley was a guest speaker in Bruff’s classroom of Union City Middle School students and educated students on the many facets of his business as part of an annual banking learning unit in Bruff’s curriculum.
Gurley’s presentation followed that of Seth Rhenberg, an auditor at Simmons Bank who earlier in the week had suggestions for students about how to keep their money and identity safe in the digital age.
The speakers were part of a banking unit Bruff has taught for more than decade and a project that has worked well to prepare students for the reality of what lies ahead for them as adults.
Gurley — a 20-year veteran of the business and senior vice president at Bank3 where specializes in commercial lending — explained many facets of his field. Among his topics were savings and checking accounts, the differences between debit cards and credit cards, and the rising popularity of online banking.
“What Mrs. Bruff is teaching you in math class, you will use each and every day,” Gurley told students. “Everything in banking comes back to math and that’s what makes the subject so important. You’ll continue to fine tune these lessons as you go on to high school and college, but math is going to be a part of your life from now on.”
Gurley also detailed how interest rates and returns are calculated, talked about direct deposit, and gave insight and his own personal forecast of how he believes banking will look in the future.
“Technology has changed banking so much in the last several years. There’s a new way of doing it and it’s more streamlined and instant. Your generation is really comfortable with computers and it’s trending toward checks being a thing of the past when you reach adulthood,” he said.
Gurley — who stressed that his occupation is a service-related industry — took questions from both students and Mrs. Bruff after his presentation. He told of a handful of his personal and professional banking experiences, and further explained how the market and economy drive interest rates and repeated the importance of each student handling their own business.
Rhenberg, meanwhile, a product of Union City Schools, had some interesting tips for students about safekeeping for their account passwords. He also gave some insight as to how banks make sure customers’ money is safe.
Bruff chimed in on the importance of consistently checking balances online to ensure accuracy.
“The students were attentive and asked a few good questions,” she said. “I truly believe they have a better understanding of what lies ahead for them as adults after listening to people in our community who have the experience of those like Mr. Gurley and Mr. Rhenberg.”