The AZ FTRS cohort together after a session

Knowledge and Access,
Engineered Around
Career and Passion

A career and passion-oriented approach to financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and college access for first-generation and marginalized students in Arizona.

Our Mission View Sessions
1 in 3 Americans have zero retirement savings
57% of first-gen students lack basic financial literacy
80% of low-income youth unaware of finance careers
Coming Soon

A Booklet for Every Student Who Can't Be in the Room

AZ FTRS has written a complete, interactive booklet, authored by founder Ishaan Patel: the full curriculum and more, built with worksheets and real exercises instead of pages to just read. Unlike a textbook, it's built to actually get used.

Every partner school that receives it gets a full seminar on how to run it, not just a box of books dropped off. The plan is over 6,000 students across Arizona schools. Full details on the rollout are coming soon.

  • Interactive worksheets, not just pages to read
  • A full seminar at every partner school on how to run it
  • The same individualized curriculum as the program itself
6,000+
students across Arizona schools, the program's next reach
Our Mission

Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship, and College Access

A career and passion-oriented approach across three pillars, for first-generation and marginalized students in Arizona.

01 — Financial Literacy

Career and Passion-Oriented

Budgeting, credit, debt, and investing, tied to the specific career and passion each student already has, not taught in the abstract.

02 — Entrepreneurship

Build the Job, Not Just Find It

Startup formation, basic business accounting, and the mindset shift from employee to owner, for students who want to build their own path.

03 — College Access

Access and Clarity

Real guidance on what comes after high school, and the financial clarity to make that decision, for first-generation students navigating it alone.

What Makes This Different

Same Lesson, Built Around a Different Life

Most financial literacy programs teach the same generic lesson to every student. AZ FTRS builds every concept around the specific career and passion each student actually has.

Israel pitched Tesla. Anthony pitched Bloom Energy Corp. Same investing unit, same twelve weeks, two completely different equity theses, because two different students were behind them.

Every student runs the same twelve-week curriculum against a completely different life. An investing-track student defends a DCF model. A student headed toward nursing builds a budget around board certification and malpractice insurance. Same process, applied to whoever is actually in the room.

Equity Analyst Nurse Practitioner Sports Broadcaster Entrepreneur Every career in the room
Equity Research Note — Student Analyst
TSLA Tesla, Inc.
Prepared by Israel · AZ FTRS Investing Cohort · Live since Session 02
Valuation Methodology Discounted Cash Flow Model
Income Analysis Dividend Index Calculation
Position Status Active — Defended Live
A second full note, same rigor: Anthony built the same model, DCF and dividend analysis included, arguing for Bloom Energy Corp instead. Same session. Same tools. Completely different company.
Read Their Full Story →
The Same Method, A Different Path

Aspiring Nurse Practitioner

Illustrative monthly budget, built off a real NP starting salary and a real grad-school debt load
Needs45%
Student Loan Payoff20%
Wants15%
Savings20%
Her "Wants," specific to the job
  • Continuing education & board certification
  • Malpractice insurance
  • Scrubs & clinical equipment
  • Commute & hospital parking
Same 50/30/20 starting point as any other student. A real graduate-school debt load is what changes how the categories actually get split.

One curriculum. Twenty-five different plans in the room. That's not an accident, that's the point.

The Reality

A System That Leaves Communities Behind

First-generation and marginalized students face a compounded disadvantage: no financial role models, no school curriculum, no career roadmaps. The result is a cycle of avoidable financial hardship.

See The Full Problem
66%
of Hispanic and Black households have less than $10K saved, compared to 40% of white households
77%
of Americans say financial stress significantly impacts their daily lives
Only 7
U.S. states require a standalone personal finance course to graduate high school
2x
more likely for first-gen college students to take on predatory debt without financial literacy education
How We Do It

Our Three-Stage Approach

Every session in our program moves students through a cycle of growth, from classroom to real world.

01

Education

Weekly sessions covering budgeting, investing, credit, debt, and career finance, taught through real scenarios, not textbooks.

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02

Application

Students practice real financial decisions built around their own career and passion: simulating budgets, exploring career salaries, and working through life scenarios.

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03

Access

We connect students to internships, scholarships, mentors, and specialized career pathways in finance and beyond.

In the Room

Students in Action

Student researching a real ticker before a stock pitch
Students mapping a venture idea on the whiteboard
Group working through a budget exercise on laptops
Student pitching Tesla stock to the group
See the Full Gallery →

Ready to invest in a student's future?

Reach out to learn how to get involved as a mentor or community partner.

Get In Touch