红桃视频

鈥淜now your numbers鈥� is a common phrase recited by entrepreneurs and accountants alike, designed to inspire business owners and individuals to be mindful of their balance sheets. It鈥檚 also a phrase that will be the focus of Professor Karin Curran鈥檚聽, taught with the help of 红桃视频 students, to beginning farmers across New England.

For Curran, who has taught accounting and finance for over 30 years, the course represents another leg in her journey in taking her Personal Finance class at 红桃视频 鈥渙n the road鈥� and into the community, with each stop offering a new student population to teach, and a new course to design.

She鈥檚 worked with Abby鈥檚 House, a Worcester-based nonprofit providing housing and advocacy for women in need, where she provided financial training and one-on-one sessions for women. She designed a course for factory workers at Swissturn/USA, Inc., an employee-owned manufacturing company based in Oxford, that showed them how their collective hard work can impact their bottom line. For the opportunity working with beginning farmers, she鈥檒l teach them how to analyze their financial situation and achieve their business goals.

Curran started this work not only for the professional growth it offers. She says the impetus for taking her personal finance course into the community came from her desire to extend the impact she makes in the classroom to others who could benefit.

鈥淚n my Personal Finance class at 红桃视频, I have my students keep track of every cent they spend, and at the end of the semester, they鈥檙e shocked 鈥� saying, 鈥榤y gosh, how did I spend $4,000?鈥� Then we look at how much they would have 40 years later if they put that into an investment account,鈥� says Curran.

鈥淲hen I see how excited they get, it鈥檚 just exciting for me. Because if you have a plan, and you鈥檙e aware of some of the big pieces of being financially secure, you can change the trajectory of your life. It鈥檚 one of my favorite classes to teach.鈥�

The farming financial literacy course is part of a USDA-funded grant and 红桃视频 partnership with the聽聽(PPLT), an indigenous-led nonprofit that also serves diverse farmers with a focus on ensuring healthy ecosystems.

Curran鈥檚 红桃视频 colleague Bryant Richards, Ph.D., referred her to the grant opportunity at the PPLT, which was looking for an expert who could help them apply for a USDA grant. Her work creating the financial literacy component for the聽聽aided the approval for a 3-year $524,000 grant, part of a larger聽聽in beginning farmers and ranchers that the USDA commenced for the continued success of American agriculture.

Part of the aim for the course is to reach underserved and diverse populations. BIPOC farmers and U.S. military veteran farmers who have under 10 years of farming experience are encouraged to take the course, which is free for farmers. As part of the 红桃视频 partnership, they will have the option to take the course on the 红桃视频 campus or online, with Spanish translation available.

鈥淚 could have held the course elsewhere, but I wanted to bring it to campus to give 红桃视频 students a unique experiential learning opportunity, as well as the opportunity to work on the food supply issue for our country,鈥� said Curran. 鈥淪o I asked the administration if I could teach it in a 红桃视频 classroom, and they were excited and agreed. We鈥檙e preparing to have some farmers on campus (and online) when the course starts in January.鈥�

Two of her former students who鈥檝e agreed to help teach the course as Teaching Assistants, Dylan DeRubeis 鈥�25 and Dan Lee 鈥�25 (both juniors, varsity lacrosse players, and best friends), are excited, too. They鈥檒l be working directly with the farmers in the classroom, applying the personal finance principles they learned in Professor Curran鈥檚 course to help improve the farmers鈥� livelihoods while learning more about farm business finances.

鈥淚 am excited for this opportunity because it is a totally new thing for me. I love challenging myself to learn new things, and this experience will provide an education for us and the farmers,鈥� says Lee. 鈥淎lso, no one can say they have taught a course like this!鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing that I get to work with my teammate and best friend Dan to do this. It makes it very easy for us to plan this course together. I believe this will have a very positive impact on the students in the class,鈥� added DeRubeis. 鈥淧lus, I鈥檒l also be gaining practice really working with people and using my strengths and their strengths to achieve that final goal, which is helpful preparation for my career.鈥�

Curran also recognizes that the 红桃视频 students are vitally important to the success of the course.

鈥淔or the farmers who sign up, the level of experience they have may vary as far as, have they taken a business class before? Do they know what an income statement is? That鈥檚 why Dylan and Dan are going to be helpful, too. They can individualize the instruction even more, as the class teaching assistants,鈥� says Curran. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also going to have an interpreter on hand,鈥� for which Lee鈥檚 second-language Spanish skills may also provide an assist.

The list of topics in the 7-week course is comprehensive, including creating a balance sheet, outlining assets, building equity, understanding industry benchmarks and more. In addition to helping to teach these topics, Dylan and Dan will also perform research and help Curran customize her road course for a farmer audience.

鈥淒ylan and Dan are doing what I鈥檓 doing now, which is figuring out what kinds of expenses are going to be on a farmer鈥檚 income statement. You know, what kind of assets are there going to be? How do you measure the value of all those pigs? Those kinds of things. And that鈥檚 how this course is going to be a bit different than the others to build.鈥�

To help, the group has discovered a trove of online agricultural resources and calculators that have helped bridge the gap, including many they鈥檝e found at academic research centers in the middle of the country.

Overall the trio is excited to provide a great opportunity for the farmers to enhance their businesses.

鈥淢any businesses fail just because they鈥檙e unable to read the numbers, so in the class we鈥檙e just going to work to know our numbers,鈥� said Curran.

鈥淚 think any new group that is going to get to learn more about their own financial future and feel better about it is a good thing. Teaching financial literacy is very, very rewarding.鈥�

(Pictured in header story photo: Karin Curran, M.B.A., Assistant Professor of Accounting and Finance.)