On October 15th, the ribbon was cut to officially open the Trojan Vault, a fully-functional branch of Envista Credit Union based in the halls of Troy. Two months later, the Trojan Vault has already helped students open accounts, gain internship opportunities, and apply financial literacy skills in a real-world setting.
It all started about a year ago, when in Sheila Krohe’s banking and finance class, a group of students had an idea; they originally wanted to put an ATM in the school, but upon further research and a survey, set their sights higher, aiming to bring a fully-operational bank to Topeka High.
Envista was an attractive target for a couple of reasons.
“Envista is really big on the education piece,” Krohe said. Envista was also chosen by the students because the results of a form they put out showed that many students already had Envista accounts.
The students, along with Krohe, visited school banks at Washburn Rural and Seaman, looking for ways to improve upon them. After that, they presented their plan to Principal Dustin Dick, who was in favor of the project.
“My job was really working out the details and getting it [the Trojan Vault] approved by the district,” Dick said.
“He really let the kids go for it,” Krohe said.
Following that, they spoke with Topeka Public Schools.
“It wasn’t hard to get a yes from the district,” Krohe said.
Finally, at a Washburn University finance event, Krohe and her students talked to a speaker from Envista, who quickly agreed to let the students present their idea to the credit union.
A year later, the results speak for themselves.
“There are a lot more people who have come than I expected,” A’myah Wallace-Morton, a Trojan Vault student worker, said. “I also opened my own account.”
Krohe is very proud of the work that has already been done, and she’s hoping the Trojan Vault will stay a permanent fixture of Topeka High.
“I want the kids who go here to have the same advantages of people in other districts,” Krohe said. “We don’t have a lot of banks in the middle of town.” “It [the Trojan Vault] gives students the opportunity to see banking in action.”
The Trojan Vault is just another example of Topeka High setting the precedent for all Kansas high schools, adding to an already-long list of things for the Trojan community to be proud of.
“I hope we can establish here and expand to other schools,” Krohe said. “It would add another thing that makes Topeka High special.”