Lawrence Jia

Though learning how to handle money may not seem as fun as learning how to drive, it’s integral for setting up young people for long-term social and economic success. Lawrence Jia learned that lesson early. The high school student always had a head for numbers, and he wanted to use that talent to help others. At fifteen, he started Money Matters, an organization that provides basic financial education to students.

Through Money Matters, hundreds of students attend bi-weekly and monthly financial literacy workshops at various after-school programs in Virginia. Lawrence has also started a chapter in Inner Mongolia in partnership with Tshinghua University that serves 800 students. The organization is staffed by about 100 high school and university students, and it counts executives at Capitol One, the Virginia Council on Economic Education, and Venebio LLC as mentors.