Skills Café educates students on managing finances

Monthly workshop also includes presentations from community partners

By California State University, Bakersfield

February 23^rd, 2024

Students looking for guidance on how to manage their finances can now take advantage of new monthly workshops being offered on campus this semester.

California State University, Bakersfield’s Basic Needs Department has launched its new Skills Café, which aims to help students build life skills and learn about community resources that are available to them.

The first workshop was held on Jan. 27 and included a presentation from the Community Action Partnership of Kern about the Home Energy Assistance Program and a discussion about how students should budget their finances. Nearly 30 students attended the event.

“We’re providing students with life skills that can help them navigate their communities and plan for their lives,” said Basic Needs Case Manager Jada Cantrell. “I think that our students really are in an exploration phase when it comes to their finances. They really are trying to learn through trial and error.”

Cantrell has been working to launch the Skills Café on campus since last fall but said discussions about the new series of workshops began soon after she started her position at the university in July 2022.

“We wanted to do more collaboration and partnership with community organizations,” she said. “We usually do that with resource fairs and tabling, but we thought it might be helpful to allow the organizations to speak on their resources and services in a workshop format.”

Cantrell believes the Skills Café is a great resource for students, as many of them are at a point in their lives where they are just learning how to be financially responsible.

“We have a lot of first-time freshmen that this is their first time leaving home. They don’t quite know how to do things like apply for an apartment, how to budget or what to get at a grocery store,” she said. “That emerging adulthood phase takes time.”

Cantrell hopes the Skills Café can help make that process easier for students. She encourages them to speak out at the workshops. If a student is hesitant to ask questions in front of others, she suggests they reach out to her directly or anyone else in the Basic Needs Department for assistance.

“I know that it can feel a little intimidating to go to a workshop and ask questions. I hope students know they’re welcome but also supported by a full team of people on campus,” she said. “I always tell students you’re not doing this alone and you’re not expected to have all the information and knowledge in the world when you step onto a college campus. We all have to learn at some point, and we want them to learn in the easiest and most beneficial way possible.”

Cantrell believes the Skills Café is not only a valuable resource for students but also gives community organizations an opportunity to directly interact with CSUB students in a way they may never have before.

“We have a lot of community organizations and partners that maybe have never stepped foot on the CSUB campus, that aren’t very familiar with what’s happening with our students,” she said. “I think inviting them here helps generate that investment and increase the investment that the community has in our students. It helps inform our community about what our students’ needs are.”

A 'foundational education'

Tiffany James, who is pursuing her master’s in public administration, was one of the students who attended the January workshop. She appreciates that the university is providing a way to help students improve their financial skills.

“Bringing this information to CSUB as a workshop is very beneficial to individuals like myself who are working toward saving. It’s about trying to learn how to have self-control over your money,” she said. “There were very good points made that can help students be more productive in the future.”

Kaylia Pugh, who is graduating early next year with her bachelor’s in public health, also attended the Skills Café and said she felt it was very helpful.

“In college, you do need to learn how to manage your money so when you come out you don’t go broke,” she said. “I did leave feeling better about myself and more about what CSUB has to offer. It made me feel a little more comfortable being here.”

Pugh said she’s grateful to CSUB for providing workshops like this to students, as well as having a wide array of programs and services to help those in need.

“I do feel like CSUB is up there when it comes to giving out resources,” she said. “Basic Needs does such a great job. If you’re really in need and it’s valid, they’ll help you.”

Pugh has been able to help students herself. For nearly a year, she has been a student assistant for the Multicultural Alliance and Gender Equity Center and the Dreamers Resource Center, where she has been able to answer students’ questions and direct them to resources on campus.

“It just feels good to help them. It’s rewarding,” she said. “I want to make people feel welcome.”

The next Skills Café workshop will be held on Feb. 27 at noon in Stockdale Room. The Kern County Department of Human Services will provide a presentation on their services and programs. There will also be a discussion about how to grocery shop on a budget. Lunch will be provided.

Two additional workshops are planned for March and April. It is uncertain at this time if the Skills Café will continue beyond those.

“We’re going to gather student feedback and reassess for next semester,” Cantrell said. “We want to measure student engagement and interest to see is this information more helpful in a workshop format or would it be more helpful in a different format?”

Cantrell has enjoyed seeing the Skills Café come to fruition. She is hopeful that students will respond positively to the workshops and that they will be able to continue offering them in future semesters.

“It’s such a fun thing to do. When I was a student, this is something I would have really enjoyed and appreciated,” she said. “I think students will benefit from this foundational education.”