Financial Futures: Preparing CVA Seniors for Life After Graduation
When Director of Finance Steve Abeles joined CVA two years ago, he didn’t just step into a key administrative role. He also embraced the challenge of teaching an elective Personal Finance class, giving students a unique opportunity to earn math credits and gain essential financial skills before graduation.
Building a Foundation for Financial Success
Financial literacy is more important than ever. Research shows that individuals with low financial literacy are far more likely to struggle financially and face long-term debt challenges. At the national level, fewer than two-thirds of high school students have access to a course like this, making CVA’s offering especially valuable. By guiding the students in his class through these concepts, Steve is helping them build a foundation for success well beyond high school.
Financial literacy is more important than ever. Research shows that individuals with low financial literacy are far more likely to struggle financially and face long-term debt challenges. At the national level, fewer than two-thirds of high school students have access to a course like this, making CVA’s offering especially valuable. By guiding the students in his class through these concepts, Steve is helping them build a foundation for success well beyond high school.
Steve says his favorite part of teaching this class is sharing powerful financial concepts such as compound interest, which Einstein famously called the “eighth wonder of the world.” On the first day of class, he shows students a 40-year chart of steady Roth IRA contributions growing over time. The visual is striking and inspiring, helping students see how consistent saving and investing can grow into long-term wealth and encouraging them to take control of their financial future.
In one memorable lesson, students choose a company and analyze its stock performance since the year they were born. Companies range from McDonald’s to John Deere. The lesson is clear: markets rise and fall, but long-term investing can produce meaningful results.
Real Skills for Real Life
Students are encouraged to voice the personal finance topics they want to learn, making sure the class covers what matters most to them. Budgeting, mortgage payments, insurance, car loans, and investing strategies top the list. Their curiosity and engagement show how much they care about understanding the real-world financial decisions that await them. For instance, Tristan Healey ’26 was drawn to the class to learn “important skills that can help me in the future.” As Aidan Butler ’26 observed, “The correlation between financial independence and starting your life as an adult is very valuable for who you become as a person.”
When asked what he hopes students take away from the class, Steve’s answer is simple. “I want these seniors to understand that they have time on their side. With a long investing horizon, they have a golden opportunity to maximize their odds of having a comfortable retirement by starting to save now.” The message is especially relevant today, as only 37 percent of U.S. adults believe retiring on time is realistic.
At CVA, educators like Steve work together to prepare students for bright, independent futures. More than anything, he wants students to feel proud of what they have accomplished. “The discipline and hard work required to graduate from CVA is no easy feat. The skills they have learned here will take them far in life. Being their teacher has been a great honor, and I feel lucky to share knowledge that can help them achieve financial independence in the future.”
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