Menu
Isaac Hertenstein named state Youth Volunteer of the Year
As Isaac Hertenstein’s Students Teaching Finance program continues to grow, so does his reputation.
Already named a Prudential Emerging Visionary earlier this year for his program that takes financial lessons into the classroom, the Greencastle High School junior added another award to the mantle Thursday night when he was named Indiana Youth Volunteer of the Year Thursday evening at the 2022 Serve Indiana Awards for Excellence awards ceremony in Indianapolis.
Hertenstein was nominated for the award by Brittany Labhart, the Greencastle Middle School business teacher who not only taught him during his middle school years, but has served as a mentor as he developed his Students Teaching Finance program.
“I had all her classes in middle school,” Hertenstein said. “I ran lessons by her and have taught in her classes.”
In her nomination, Labhart explained a bit about how Hertenstein came to the point of wanting to educate other students about finance.
“Throughout his childhood in Greencastle, he has witnessed friends’ financial struggles and attended school with over 50 percent of students on free or reduced lunch, a proxy for low income and poverty,” Labhart wrote. “After learning about personal finance in my classes in middle school, Isaac’s freshman year of high school was a turning point; he began researching financial literacy and discovered the link between increased financial literacy and decreased financial problems and inequality. Inspired to address the need for financial literacy education, Isaac founded ‘Students Teaching Finance’, an incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit.”
Labhart noted that 37 states, including Indiana, do not require financial literacy or personal finance classes in high school.
“Students Teaching Finance teaches youth foundational financial concepts they wouldn’t otherwise learn about in their school curriculum,” Labhart added. “Most students do not learn financial literacy at home either because over 70 percent of parents avoid financial discussions with their children.”
Hertenstein certainly does not want for activities. Besides being a student, the 16-year-old is president of the GHS DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), GHS band president, Ethics Bowl state finalist, a varsity cross country runner and co-chairman of the Putnam County Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy Committee.
And yet he’s poured himself into Students Teaching Finance as well. He started by consulting with several community leaders and educators, wrote a 30-page financial literacy curriculum specifically for students in kindergarten through eighth-grade and built a website for STF that contains his free, open-source curriculum.
He then set to work incorporating the lessons into the curriculum at Greencastle’s primary and middle schools.
It’s grown from there, though. Hertenstein explained to the Banner Graphic that STF is now in 12 states with 150 volunteers and 1,600 students impacted by the end of 2022.
Locally, the program is growing by Hertenstein partnering with Kara Jedele’s economics classes, which will then take the curriculum into Tzouanakis Intermediate School.
The success of Hertenstein’s program is hardly surprising to those who know him well.
“Isaac is one of the most driven middle school/high school students I have ever known and worked with,” Labhart told the Banner Graphic. “He is wise beyond his years.”
Dean Gambill, community development director with the Putnam County Community Foundation, has interacted with Hertenstein extensively due to his involvement with the Youth Philanthropy Committee. Gambill recalled that when Hertenstein had first come onto the committee, he made a surprise request.
“He said, 'Can I take you to coffee? I want to ask you about something I’m thinking about," Gambill recalled. "I thought, ‘A kid’s taking me to coffee?’"
When Starbucks was ultimately closed, they went to Scoops for ice cream instead, but regardless of the location, Gambill remembered, “He would not let me pay.”
It's a certain poise that's notable in Hertenstein, yet coupled with an unassuming nature.
“When you first meet him, you know that this is a very intelligent kid, but he’s very humble at the same time," Gambill said. "I don’t know that he knows how smart he is.”
“He’s not afraid to step up and lead in anything, yet he doesn’t demand anything," Gambill added. "He became our co-chair this year, and was surprised that he would ask us.”
Ultimately, Gambill and wife Anita, as well as Labhart and Jedele, were the guests of Isaac and parents Matt and Margo Thursday evening for the awards ceremony.
“He’s just an amazing kid," Gambill said.
For his part, Hertenstein remains humble, happy to see the program growing.
“I’m super excited to be working with the other students who are excited about finance,” he said.
