“I want to promote math, financial literacy and help them understand how money works,” she said.

This summer, Wilson-McCain established the pilot program for the Financial Literacy for Youth (FLY) Math Club in her hometown of Fairmont, N.C. This program was a day camp that allowed 20 rising 6-8th grade students the opportunity to work within groups to create a business plan, a product sample and mini infomercial for a mock contest.

“Students there don’t have a lot of opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities like this,” she said. “I wanted to start the program in a place where it could have a significant impact.”

After earning her bachelor’s in business marketing from the School of Business and Economics (SoBE), and a minor in Spanish, Wilson-McCain’s career has taken a journey through retail management, property management, Teach for America and now instructional coaching for middle school math teachers.

Since high school, she has always had an interest in business. It was ultimately a work study assignment in the Office of Financial Aid that inspired her to be a champion for financial literacy.

“I noticed that a lot of students lacked basic money management skills like handling credit card debt and the impact of student loans,” she said.

With the math club, Wilson-McCain has been able to use all of her professional and even some life experiences to help the students understand mathematical concepts. In Teach for America, she taught seventh-grade math in schools classified as low-performing schools based on state testing.

“I noticed that it was a lot of mindset issues and a matter of will. A lot of students feel a disconnect between what they are learning and how they will apply it to life,” she said. “When I was teaching, I started opening up every math lesson with a story and incorporate math into it. That immediately hooked the students.”

Without realizing they were doing math, the students became more interested and started understanding how to apply the lessons to daily life, she said.

“I learned that it’s not about math, it’s about the strategic thinking and the problem solving. You can take that into any situation,” Wilson-McCain said.

The real life approach to math is what separates FLY Math Club from other similar clubs. Traditionally, math clubs cater to students who have high-proficiency in math. FLY was designed for nearly everyone.

“We don’t do calculus problems. We focus on integrating real life challenges through financial literacy so they can see math in a different light,” she said. “You don’t have to be a genius, anyone with a genuine interest can join and build on the skills they have.”

Now that the school year has resumed, Wilson-McCain is looking to launch a 10-week, after school-style program at five sites by January. In this model, students would stay after school one day per week to participate in various math projects and activities. The program would culminate with a week-long camp like the one this summer.

“The hope is that they are able to gain more confidence in math and leave the program with at least a neutral attitude. I don’t want them feeling defeated before they start,” she said.

Wilson-McCain resides in Charlotte with her husband, Clinton and their 8-year-old daughter, Sanai.

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