Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]  

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University alumni will offer valuable financial advice and insight to current students at a series of upcoming seminars. 

The fourth Advanced Money Management Bootcamp will feature six sessions on topics such as good credit, investing, insurance, home buying and more, including one on relationships and finances that includes a panel featuring WT President Walter V. Wendler and wife Mary Wendler. 

“ECU Buff $mart’s goal is to provide financial knowledge to students on how to graduate with little to no debt and become financially independent,” said program coordinator Meghan Williams. “For this series of workshops, we have asked key alumni from the community to provide students financial education on topics that are of great importance to them as they prepare for life after college.” 

The bootcamp is cosponsored by the Education Credit Union Buff $mart program and the WT Alumni Association. 

“This is a great opportunity for WT students to hear personal stories of how WT alumni handled their own financial experiences in their early adulthood,” said Ronnie Hall, executive director of the WT Alumni Association. “Plus, it’s an opportunity for alumni to pay it forward by sharing their wisdom, and wisdom only has value when it’s shared.” 

Each session will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the West Texas room in the basement of the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on the Canyon campus. Zoom options also are available. 

Sessions will include: 

• April 4: Building Credit Responsibly, led by Colten Hibbs, Education Credit Union financial educator and staff writer and a 2008 graduate in theater performance; 
• April 5: Car Buying and Large Purchases, led by Kelsey Ward, Canyon branch manager for Education Credit Union and a 2014 graduate in finance; 
• April 6: Investing, led by Matthew Marrs of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and a 2018 graduate in finance and economics; 
• April 11: All About Insurance, led by Jarrett Jackson of Modern Woodman of America and a 2012 graduate in entrepreneurial business, and Aaron Cappilla of Farmers Insurance and a 2012 graduate in business;  
• April 12: Home Buying, led by Natalia Molina of Moreland Real Estate Group and a 2017 graduate in graphic design and advertising/public relations; and 
• April 13: Relationships and Finances panel, led by the Wendlers; Amber Black, assistant vice president for student enrollment, engagement and success, and husband Kelly; and Abby Betts, senior career services coordinator for WT’s Office of Career and Professional Development. Amber Black is a 2002 marketing graduate who earned an MBA in 2014, and Kelly Black is a 2000 nursing graduate. Betts is a 2017 broadcast journalism and advertising/PR graduate who earned a master’s in instructional design technology in 2019. 

Registration is requested but not required for students, but interested members of the public may also attend by registering here: baseline.campuslabs.com/wtau/2022ammbcregistration.   

For information, call 806-651-2369. 

Meeting regional needs is a key mission of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. 

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched Sept. 23 — has raised about $108 million. 

About West Texas A&M University 

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs, 39 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.