On a campus home to thousands of RSOs, Sprout is one of the newest. As an up-and-coming organization, its mission is to equip students with real-world financial literacy skills, both at the University and in the Champaign-Urbana community.
“Sprout is a service-focused RSO, and our whole mission is to increase the financial literacy of students,” said Trinity Choi, sophomore in Engineering and Sprout’s executive vice president and co-founder. “Our main service opportunity is that we partner with local high schools, middle schools and, in the future, possibly even elementary schools to go there and teach the students these topics.”
While Sprout works externally with the C-U community, they also want to give back to the University.
“We also want to make sure that we’re serving our UIUC community as well,” Choi said.
For this upcoming semester, the group is planning internal workshops and bringing in speakers so members can learn how a college student can set themselves up for a brighter financial future.
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Choi, alongside the president, Ioanna Lee, sophomore in Business, co-founded the organization.
Choi said her motivation behind Sprout “started with a personal mission.”
“I come from an immigrant family, and, especially after COVID, financial literacy was something that I realized was missing from my family’s life,” Choi said. “After taking consumer ed in high school, I realized that it was something I was really passionate about. So I was very involved in helping my family learn more about what they can do and also making sure that I’m setting myself up for success on that end.”
When Choi talked to Lee about the possibility of starting an RSO, she also mentioned that many schools in the C-U area don’t extensively cover financial literacy.
Choi said that she and Lee saw a need for financial literacy in the community and “wanted to fill it by starting an RSO.”
Sprout may be focused on spreading financial literacy, but it is not a requirement to be well-versed in the subject to join.
Allison Chen, Sprout’s vice president of membership and sophomore in Business, said many people assume that you need to fully understand financial literacy before wanting to join Sprout.
“We take in any level of financial literacy, so if you know nothing, if you know a ton — it doesn’t matter,” Chen said. “We’re really looking for anyone who’s interested in the cause. We’ll teach you everything, and you’ll be able to pass that on.”
Sprout also benefits its members, like Serena Chan, Sprout’s marketing director and sophomore in Business, who was able to make connections and friendships with others within the organization, as well as build her teamwork skills.
Chan also emphasized that Sprout is open to everyone. Even though she is not a finance major, she has “learned a lot through the club, especially through guest speakers.”
Chan said that if you have “an interest and an open mind,” you will be ready to join Sprout.
As Sprout looks to next semester, the organization is excited to get more guest speakers, workshops, and ultimately, spread the seed of financial literacy across the C-U community and beyond.
