Castleton students play the ‘Game of Life’ in the Campus Center.

The 1787 room was packed with Castleton students last Tuesday hoping to participate in some educational fun as the Castleton Financial Literacy group partnered with the Heritage Family Credit Union to display a real-life Game of Life.

Students were given budget cards and an initial job. Then they began walking around to different stations, where they had to spend their money on everything from clothing to car insurance to see how well they budget.

Castleton Junior Abby Gray enjoyed the event and felt it was very informative.

“This event opens students’ eyes on what finances they need to consider in life. There were so many options of what you can buy and it’s all about finding the right option for you and what you can afford,” Gray said.

Brendan Crowley, a Financial Literacy mentor on campus, said he is happy with the direction the program is going.

“I think we got a lot of people involved. This is the fourth or fifth year of financial literacy mentoring and this is always our finale event. This is a Castleton creation with our partnership with Heritage Family Credit Union,” Crowley said.

Mark Grossarth, a Heritage Family credit Union employee, said he is happy what the partnership has led to.

“We worked with Kelly Beckwith with a Financial Reality Fair and since then has expanded to a seminar series, which includes the Game of Life with the school,” Grossarth said.

Grossarth is proud of what has been accomplished thus far.

“The students here are really great and the whole idea of this program is to have students become empowered and financially literate and the student mentors taking ownership of things has been fantastic,” said Grossarth with a smile.

Some students walked out happy with money to spare while others overspent their budget and learned valuable lessons.

“We want to offer financial advice through budgeting and taxes, things they will experience in the real world,” Crowley said.

Castleton Area Coordinator Rachel Sayward aided the event and watched it all unfold.

“I was impressed with the turnout. It was fun to help participants decide where they wanted to live and see them trying to be frugal to live on those meager entry level positions,” Sayward said. “I know from my own experience, I found it very daunting to figure out how to begin being financially responsible after graduating college. I think any experience that helps students recognize the need for fiscal responsibility is really beneficial,” said Sayward with a smile.

“The impact we’ve had is something to be proud of. We had a record-breaking seminar series this year and the turnout today alone is tremendous,” Grossarth said.