Empower U Summit Focuses On Student Lending, Millennials, Portfolio Performance
WASHINGTON —With more than 60 people in attendance, Credit Union Student Choice hosted its second Empower U Summit at the Mayflower Hotel where attendees learned from expert speakers about the current climate of student lending, how to connect with Millennials, and more.
The event began with breakout sessions led by Student Choice staff on marketing best practices, compliance updates, loan portfolio performance, and Student Choice’s new refinance product.
“I really enjoyed the focus not only on marketing and strategy but also on lending and industry trends. The events lent themselves very well to networking, which is always positive when it comes to learning best practices,” said Alexa Bennett, Marketing Manager for Northern Federal Credit Union. “Many of the suggestions I plan to recommend for student lending in 2017 are thanks to what I learned at this conference.”
The second day featured six presentations from experts on lending, higher education, financial strategy, and marketing trends. In one of the sessions, Neil Goldman, senior partner of Goldman Consulting and Strategy, shared video clips from focus groups conducted with young adult borrowers. Results showed that misconceptions exist about young adults and the ways they want to receive information; participants indicated they would appreciate an in-person discussion of their student loans prior to completing an application.
Empower U concluded with an evening event at the Knight Conference Center at the Newseum, where attendees had front row seats for an exchange between CNN’s Paul Begala and Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. The two commentators voiced their opinions on the Presidential candidates, their positions on key issues including higher education, and answered questions from the audience.
“Paul and Tucker outlined what is at stake in our country during the upcoming Presidential election, and they also explained the current economic climate that affects our industry every single day,” said Scott Patterson, President of Credit Union Student Choice. “It was energizing and affirming to see two well-known cable news personalities offer their insights on many of the same topics as our conference speakers.”
“We’re already looking forward to Empower U 2017,” Patterson continued. “Empower U is the only event in the credit union space dedicated to private student lending and connecting with young adults. This conference has proven to be an excellent source of information for our credit union partners, and we hope more non-client credit unions will join us next year as well.”
The company said that those who wish to request an invitation to next year’s Empower U event may do so at www.empoweru.studentchoice.org/future.