- May 06, 2026
- By Carrie Handwerker
Always financially savvy, Manasa Alur ’26 used to give her friends advice about scholarships, credit cards and other money issues in her residence hall lounge.
Now she's one of 10 trained peer mentors in the University of Maryland's new Financial Wellness Hub, an outpost of the Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Financial Wellness Center. The hub, located on the first floor of McKeldin Library, will reach students across campus with resources on budgeting, investing and financial planning through peer mentoring, classes and events.
A partnership with the Division of Student Affairs and University Libraries, it was made possible with financial support from Maryland’s State Employees Credit Union (SECU) as part of Forward: The University of Maryland Campaign for the Fearless, UMD’s $2.5 billion fundraising effort. Leaders from each UMD partner and SECU, plus Alur, spoke at the hub’s opening event on Monday.
“We are excited to see this space open and come to life as a central location for approachable, engaging discussions, workshops and events centered around financial education. It is so important to empower students to take ownership of their financial future—from their first year to graduation and beyond,” said Annie Weinschenk, who oversees SECU’s university partnerships. “Our goal is to arm students with the knowledge, tools, resources and, most importantly, confidence to make sound decisions and build healthy financial habits for long-term success.”
Having the Financial Wellness Hub in the library aligns with the university’s push to improve students’ information literacy across topics. “Spaces like this remind us that when institutions, campus partners, and businesses like SECU work together, we can create environments where every student feels supported and empowered to thrive,” said Holly Mercer, dean of University Libraries.
The center is co-directed by associate clinical professor Michael McMillan and senior lecturer Samuel Handwerger. As part of the center, McMillan teaches two campuswide online personal finance courses. Handwerger runs the TerpTax student-managed free tax preparation service and the Justice for Fraud Victims program that has students investigating financial fraud cases. The center partners with Student Affairs’ Thrive Center for Essential Needs, which connects students with financial resources and helps manage financial coaching sessions and workshops.
The colorfully branded, glass-enclosed hub includes a flexible space for workshops and group meetings with moveable seating, tables and beanbag chairs. A smaller space is available for one-on-one mentoring sessions.
Alur is excited to have a place to meet with other students in-person instead of on Zoom, where most mentoring sessions had been taking place. Professor Joseph Bailey, associate dean of undergraduate studies, first sought her input when he developed a class to teach students how to be financial peer mentors. Alur, who was then the president of the Collegiate Financial Management Association, a student club that promotes financial literacy at UMD and local high schools, became Bailey’s teaching assistant.
“I’ve learned how little students know about financial literacy, and honestly, how scared they are to talk about it,” said Alur, who has rounded out her financial knowledge with what she’s learned in her classes as a finance and economics double-major, with a minor in real estate development.
In Bailey’s class, students learned about personal finance topics—budgeting, investing, insurance, loans, credit—as well as behavioral finance and how to make others feel comfortable enough to talk about the often-taboo subject of money. They did mock mentoring sessions with each other before earning a peer mentor certification from the Institute of Financial Literacy, a national nonprofit that promotes financial education and counseling. Now, they meet regularly with students who have financial questions.
“They are not giving people specific advice or recommendations,” said McMillan. “They’re really guiding them to find their own path to navigate their financial issues.”
Alur says mentoring sessions often cover questions about loans and scholarships. She points to one series of mentoring sessions she had with a student who thought they might have to take a semester off to work to pay for classes. She was able to help them find a work-study and land a scholarship so they could stay in school.
“You never want someone to fall behind financially in college, so that was a great moment,” Alur said, adding that she hopes the hub will allow more students to get that kind of help. “If you don’t know where to start, you could still come to our workshops and sessions to find out more and just talk about your financial situation. We can help.”
McMillan said although the initial focus has been on helping students, the Financial Wellness Center at the Financial Wellness Hub is a community-wide resource.
“We’re also there for staff and faculty if they have financial issues,” he said. “Ultimately, we want to work with other University System of Maryland schools and community colleges in the state to help them develop similar programs.”
From left, Samuel Berner '28, Linh Nguyen '27 and Manasa Alur '26 talk with President Darryll J. Pines and Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice at the hub's opening on Monday.