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‘Emerging Visionary’ Hertenstein looks to educate, inspire others
Try talking to your average 15-year-old about finance and you’d likely expect a blank stare – if you get a look at all.
Then again Isaac Hertenstein isn’t your average 15-year-old.
Instead, the Greencastle High School student is quite passionate about finance and sharing that passion with others.
To that end, he’s already the founder of a non-profit organization, Students Teaching Finance, whose goal is not simply to teach finance to students here in Greencastle and Putnam County but to share his curriculum in hopes it will spread across the country and even the globe.
For his efforts, Hertenstein was recently recognized as an inaugural Prudential Emerging Visionary for bringing powerful vision and meaningful change to his community.
While Hertenstein is one of just 25 students honored by Prudential, he’s part of an even more exclusive club of five visionaries in the financial solutions category who will have further opportunities when they are honored later this spring.
It’s all pretty amazing for a student whose journey just began last summer.
“I never thought this would grow to the point that it is,” Hertenstein said.
As the son of two local educators — Matt, a DePauw University psychology professor, and Margo, a Deer Meadow Primary first-grade teacher — it’s hardly surprising that Isaac would end up teaching others. However, the speed at which it has taken form, from conception last summer to teaching more than 325 students in one semester to national recognition is truly remarkable.
It all comes from a place of passion and seeing a need.
“We don’t have personal finance classes in Indiana, and only 20 percent of the states have personal finance classes,” he said. “I’ve always held an interest in finances and business in general. I was fortunate to have my parents teach me about them.”
He sees an opportunity even bigger than simply teaching a few hundred Greencastle kids about finance, though.
Upon writing his 30-page curriculum last summer, Hertenstein founded his non-profit and started a website, https://sites.google.com/view/studentsteachingfinance/home, in order to share it with others at no cost.
“I feel many people are able to teach these more simple lessons, which is why it’s open source-curriculum for everyone,” Hertenstein said.“Through the open-source curriculum, I’m wanting to get other kids throughout the state and the country to go into their schools and teach.”
While it is open to literally anyone, Hertenstein’s vision is for students to teach other students, hence the name. It’s a model he has found effective so far in teaching students at Deer Meadow Primary, Tzouanakis Intermediate and Greencastle Middle School.
“Seeing a high schooler come in breaks up the monotony. It’s like I’m an alien in the classroom, they’re all staring at me,” he said. “I hope to continue teaching them.”
In another sign of Hertenstein’s larger vision, he doesn’t simply speak of hoping to improve the financial futures of students individually, but of wealth inequality as a whole in the world, pointing out that the top one percent of households own 43 percent of global wealth.
It’s a problem he even sees at GHS, where he says some kids can afford whatever they want while others struggle.
It’s that kind of vision that likely caught the eye of Prudential, taking a grassroots approach to a vast, global issue.
Prudential Emerging Visionaries has a refined mission: to celebrate young people who are bringing fresh perspectives and new solutions to pressing financial and societal challenges in their communities. Like the other honorees, Hertenstein will receive $5,000 in funding for Students Teaching Finance.
“I never thought I’d actually be chosen,” Hertenstein said. “These kids are from all over the country and they’re doing fantastic things that are scaled even beyond what I’m working on. I was shocked.”
When all 25 visionaries are in Newark, N.J., late next month for an awards summit, he’ll have the opportunity to take part in skills development workshops, coaching sessions, networking opportunities and special recognition events.
As a financial solutions Emerging Visionary, Hertenstein will take part in a pitch-off where one grand prize winner will receive an additional $10,000 in funding. Each finalist will give a four-minute pitch followed by 15 minutes of questions and answers.
“All five of us will be there and are invited to take part in a pitch-off. I think it’s basically ’Shark Tank’ style,” he said. “That’s a very exciting opportunity.”
Regardless of the outcome of the pitch-off, Hertenstein’s vision is on reaching more students. That includes recruiting others at GHS to reach more of the younger GCSC students, as well as getting the word out elsewhere, even though coverage of Hertenstein’s award.
“Hopefully by having this coverage, more kids will visit the site and be empowered to visit the website and become empowered to become change makers in their community,” he said.
There is a lot more potential for growth while he remains a student.
“It’s really exciting, and obviously I’m only a sophomore, so I have two or three more years to keep growing this and making an impact,” Hertenstein said.
Even if there comes a point that he moves on from actively teaching or developing the program, it can continue.
“Even if I don’t want to do it, the curriculum will still exist,” he said. “It’s kind of an indirect perpetuity of doing it.”
Hertenstein has received positive feedback all around, with young students coming out saying they are more interested in matters of finance, and even his peers saying they wish a class like this had been offered.
He is also grateful for the support of teachers and administrators at the high school.
“The flexibility — I’ve had to miss some of my classes,” Hertenstein said. “I’m very grateful to them for being able to do that.”
In the end, though, the focus remains on the students.
“By planting seeds, these kids will grow up becoming more interested in finances and personal finances,” Hertenstein said. “Try to change that generation track of inequality and how we can impact that for the better.”