A Partner in the March

Joshua Pierce “got chills” watching Selma High School students complete the Build Up pilot. The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business Professor of Finance and Associate Head of Economics, Finance and Legal Studies had partnered with Foot Soldiers Park to develop the program’s curriculum – but even he hadn’t anticipated how transformative it would be.

In late 2025, we launched the pilot for the Build Up program, and 111 students showed up ready to learn. Over three weeks, 9th through 12th graders tackled banking, budgeting, credit, loans, investment basics, and the racial wealth gap. Not theory. Real skills, built for real life.

What made Build Up work was the partnership at its core, a key component of Foot Soldiers Park’s approach to building multigenerational wealth. Professor Pierce brought deep financial expertise and academic rigor to the curriculum, while Director of Programs and Partnerships Carey Fountain brought an intimate understanding of the Selma community – who these students were, what they needed, and how to reach them. Together, they built something neither could have created alone.

That collaboration was tested early. When Professor Pierce introduced the material through traditional slide presentations, the energy in the room was flat. That changed when Director of Programs Carey Fountain suggested a more interactive approach and brought in Monopoly money to spark some friendly competition. The students lit up – and never looked back.

“I would recommend the program [to my classmates] because I feel like they introduced it in a fun way,” said eleventh grader Gavin Perry who won third place in the stock simulation competition.

By the end of the program, the students weren’t just conversant in the basics of banking and saving. They could talk about compound interest, risk and reward metrics, and investment strategy – and put that knowledge into practice, researching stocks, making investment decisions, and competing in a real-money stock simulation that put their new skills to the test.

“The ability to actually see results and see changes with [young people’s] relationships with money is evident, and it’s quicker than I would have thought. I would say there is a return on investment in this program.”

– Professor Pierce

Professor Pierce also put his own money where his mouth is – making a personal donation to Foot Soldiers Park to ensure that the program had enough funding to award cash prizes to the winners of the student stock simulation.

In the coming months, Professor Pierce will work with Director Fountain to refine the model for the Build Up — testing more interactive formats with our youth leadership group, bringing in first-generation University of Alabama finance students to mentor participants, and hosting recurring virtual meetups in which financial professionals share their expertise with participants and alumni — and actively seeking a banking partner to connect students to real financial institutions and resources.

If your organization is interested in partnering with us, please reach out to carey@footsoldierspark.org.