Oklahoma City Community College provides many different educational opportunities to help students be successful in college and beyond.
Professor Jack Kraettli teaches financial literacy at OCCC and high schools in the Oklahoma City
area.
Mr. Kraettli recently received his Certificate of Completion from the Oklahoma Securities
Commission. This certification is awarded through taking classes with the OSC and passing the tests with
a grade of 90% or higher. His financial classes teach students everything: From how to balance a
checkbook, to investing in the stock market.
Kraettli said the emphasis of the certification is to “help the student understand the operation of
investing and how the will benefit you today, tomorrow, and in the future.”
Oklahoma now requires all high school students to complete a financial literacy class before
being allowed to graduate.
Professor Kraettli is currently teaching an InvestEd Organization Program called STARS, Students
Tracking and Researching the Stock Market, through the OSC. The STARS program is intended to raise
awareness about financial education, Kraettli added, “this is as important [to] managing money.”
Kraettli said, “most [college] students don’t think they have enough to invest and most high
school students know they don’t have enough to invest. People with their first job always have priorities
above investing. So one of the things I emphasize is you have to pay yourself first, and it hurts like heck.”
A previous student of Kraettli was living out of their car and was on public assistance when the
class began. He completed the course owning a house and with money in a checking account.
Professor Kraettli said, “I ask the classes to voluntarily give their financial circumstance, this
student said they were living out of their car they had graduated from a Oklahoma City high school so
the college gives then six hours here and one of the classes they took was my personal finance class so if
they ever got any money what they would do with it.”
“They took it to heart,” said Kraettli
A topic of debate among people 18 to 35 is whether or not it is harder or easier to be financially
successful today than it was a few decades ago.
Professor Kraettli said, “I believe it’s easier to succeed because you have more tools available to
you, but I think the motivation that millennials have been exposed to have been diminished or ignored.”