Illinois’ candidate for Miss United States is on a mission to help high school students understand finances.
23-year old Aaliyah Kissick of Athens is bringing her passion of financial literacy to the forefront while she completes her bachelor’s degree in agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign all the while being a contestant in Miss United States in October. Kissick says she’s also interested in pursing a graduate degree in finance.
Kissick started her own brick-and-mortar business in Springfield at the age of 17, which she now runs solely online in between studying, competition, as well as serving as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard.
Kissick, who wants to become a financial planner, is lobbying the Illinois General Assembly to make financial literacy a cornerstone of high school education: “It is House Bill 1375, which would require mandatory financial literacy for all Illinois high school students. I have had the opportunity to speak with multiple people in the political realm. So far, I have not had any negative feedback from it. They have listened and realized why it is important. One thing that I think is really positive about it is that the committee team that is spearheading that bill is bipartisan. It’s not something that the Left is getting angry about or the Right is getting angry about. I really think that making sure that we have well-informed citizens is a bipartisan issue, and so I’ve had pretty positive feedback so far.”
Kissick said she had to learn everything about finances on her own back when she started her business in high school. She hopes to provide help to small families and small businesses, or even kids with a dream of their own to get started on their best financial path.
Kissick will compete on October 19-20 in Memphis, Tennessee, for the national title of Miss United States.