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Miami Middletown senior earns internship with MasterCard

Mary Kate Linehan

Just 12 student interns in North America are responsible for presenting credit information across the country to various colleges and universities in the United States for the MasterCard Worldwide program "Are You Credit Wise?"

Mike Tuttle, a senior at Miami University Middletown, is one of them.

According to Patrick Dwyer, vice president of Global Public Policy at MasterCard Worldwide and head of the "Are You Credit Wise?" program, this will be the 11th year for the program and the first time it has been brought to Miami.

Dwyer said the "Are You Credit Wise?" program is a campus-based program that provides money management information for students in a peer-to-peer format.

"We felt that, in developing the program, going back 11 years ago, that this format has really proven itself as a vehicle for helping students reach other students," Dwyer said. "We feel that it is the best dynamic for students to hear this information rather than it coming from a professor or from someone like myself, an incorporation, they are instead hearing it from their peers."

As a Miami student, Tuttle said student interns within the program must provide reassurance to students on how they manage their credit and budgets during their college years.

"Obviously not everyone is perfect so I'm not telling people that once they have a credit card you must do only this and that, and that if you fall behind on your payments then it is their own fault," Tuttle said. "That's not what I'm saying."

Tuttle hopes to convince Miami students that there are other ways to deal with their credit problems and any financial trouble they may experience.

"I want them to realize that people do make mistakes and that when you make a mistake, you need to take the actions to rectify that, and not to ignore it," Tuttle said. "Do not push it aside or cut it off, you need to make sure every time that you misstep you right yourself and fix that, and then hopefully you can put yourself on the right track and avoid further conflict."

Tuttle acquired an internship position after applying through the Public Relations Society of America job center Web site and specifically applied for the "Are You Credit Wise?" program.

Dwyer said MasterCard reviews many attributes to find excellent student teachers for the program.

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"We really seek out creative students, students that are involved on campus, and we feel as though they are the best ambassadors for the program," Dwyer said.

Tuttle said after the two-day training session for student teachers in the program, each teacher went to their prospective universities and presented the information and key ideas MasterCard wishes to provide college students nationwide. Tuttle's main focus was Miami.

"I am specifically Miami University," Tuttle said. "My main goal is to work with Miami University students on both the Oxford and Middletown campuses, they are my main focuses."

Tuttle's $1,000 stipend for the internship with MasterCard will end in December, but Tuttle promised to continue the financial presentations to Miami even after the stipend ends.

"I'm going to continue the program through the spring semester," Tuttle said. "I see no reason to stop in December, just because my stipend runs out ... it just doesn't make sense to me to pour all of this effort into this and then stop in December, so I'm going to continue it through."