Students bring new Financial Planning Invitational to CMU

On April 24, Central Michigan University hosted its inaugural Financial Planning Invitational in Grawn Atrium, bringing together student teams from universities across the region, including Michigan State University, Calvin University, Northwood University, Spring Arbor University, Western Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, and Cornerstone University, for a competition designed to mirror the realities of professional financial planning.

Organized by the Financial Planning Association at Central Michigan University, the student-led event challenged teams to analyze real-world client cases, present recommendations to professional judges and apply both technical and interpersonal skills central to the profession.

“It’s more than just a competition. It’s an opportunity for them to learn and network from experienced professionals,” said Mark Potts, finance faculty member and personal financial planning program director. “It complements well what we do in the classroom. And from a CMU perspective, it’s a credit to the students that this was their idea, their concept, and their execution.”

Student organizer Christian Whipple, a senior personal financial planning major from Muskegon, Mich., said the team saw an opportunity to create something that reflected the realities of the profession.

“This felt like the right time to bring something like this to Michigan,” Whipple said. “We saw an opportunity to create a competition that tests what students are actually expected to do in the profession, not just what they know.”

Whipple was one of several students who helped bring the inaugural competition to life, alongside:

• Payton McKay, junior personal financial planning major, Jenison, Mich.
• Lauren Potter, junior personal financial planning major, Troy, Mich.
• Dylan Gergely, junior personal financial planning and finance double major, Riverview, Mich.
• Micah Morehouse, sophomore personal financial planning major, Marshall, Mich.
• Ellie Thorburn, sophomore personal financial planning major, Williamston, Mich.
• Bryce Lambeth, senior personal financial planning major, South Lyon, Mich.

The event was supported by alumni advisors Stephanie Trexler ’13 and Emily Haberkern ’11.

Putting learning into practice

For students, the invitational turned classroom concepts into applied problem-solving.

Micah Morehouse, a sophomore personal financial planning major from Marshall, Mich., said the event offered students a chance to apply both technical knowledge and communication skills.

“The biggest thing for us was being able to test both the practical learning we’ve gained here at Central and the soft skills of explaining our thinking to clients,” Morehouse said. “That’s something you don’t always get to practice in a traditional classroom setting.”

“I think the most challenging part of the case was breaking down the numbers and seeing what [the judges] goals were,” said Mallory Butterfield, a junior personal financial planning major, from Lapeer, Mich. “Saying, ‘This is how we need to save this,’ and then getting them on board because obviously they’re going to have to change their lifestyle in some way,”

Kendall Wenzel, a senior personal financial planning major from Midland, Mich., said the competition drew directly on what students have practiced in class.

“I’ve been able to use so much that we’ve learned in class,” she said. “Applying it was a lot easier.”

Potts said that connection between coursework and practice is what made the event valuable.

“My hope would be that they have seen those dots connected,” he said. 

Industry feedback in a real-world setting

A defining feature of the invitational was presenting as though judges were clients, a format that closely mirrored the field. Whipple said that format was intentionally designed to mirror the profession.

“It’s more like what you’d encounter in real practice,” he said. “You’re not just presenting slides; you’re interacting, listening, and adapting in real time.”

“It correlates very closely with my professional work,” said CMU alumnus Ryan Iles, CFP, financial advisor at Merrill Lynch and competition judge. “I think it’s the blend of technical competency with the human element and the interpersonal skills.”

Maureen Starry ’92, financial advisor at Edward Jones and competition judge, praised the students’ preparation.

“I was really impressed with the level of detail the students put into the plans,” she said. “[And by] their preparedness and the amount of detail that the groups had given the case study they had,”

She also pointed to empathy as a professional skill students demonstrated.

“If you can be empathetic and understand those are real people on the other side of the desk, I think it was very genuine,” Starry said.

That client-centered approach resonated with students.

“Something that I gained from this competition and presenting is how to approach these judges or these clients,” said Hannah Dombrowski, a third-year personal financial planning major from Troy, Mich. “You have to tailor what you want to present to your audience.”

A student-led launch with momentum

Beyond the competition itself, the event highlighted student leadership.

“What impressed me most from a CMU perspective is the fact that these are Financial Planning Association students that came up with this idea on their own,” Potts said. “They then put together not only the event but invited the guests and then executed it in an excellent way.”

Students said collaboration shaped their approach.

“Everyone’s different workflows and how we want to approach it, we kind of work together to figure out how we want to go about it,” said Owen Khon, a third-year personal financial planning major, from Jackson, Mich.

Supported by industry sponsors and professional judges, the invitation reflected the kind of hands-on, relationship-driven learning that defines CMU’s personal financial planning program. For a first-year event, it also laid the groundwork for something larger: a new tradition built by students, strengthened by industry and designed to prepare future planners through experience.