Alumna donates $50,000 for teens to attend summer financial literacy program

Investment manager and certified financial planner Pamela Adams, MBA ’98 believes in paying it forward. Her $50,000 gift to The Paul Merage School of Business‘ LIFEvest financial literacy program will enable ninth- or 10th-grade students from economically disadvantaged communities to learn the basics of money management, as well as how to prepare for success in college and beyond. “My goal is for students to be knowledgeable about finance so they will ultimately earn enough and learn how to invest wisely so they have more to give,” Adams said. LIFEvest, a weeklong residential workshop held on the UCI campus each summer, is sponsored by the business school’s Center for Investment & Wealth Management. Launched in the summer of 2011, the program has served 218 students to date. “For me, professional success and charitable giving go hand in hand,” Adams said. “By endowing these scholarships, I hope to pass on my philosophy of giving with intention, so our younger generation’s philanthropy makes a positive difference.”