Grand Opening of Marist Red Fox Financial

Jay Pantaleo, Jackson Willis ’25, William Lamb, Kevin Weinman, Jonathan Roberts, Shyamal Amin '26 and Layla Keen ’25 about to cut the ribbon at the Grand Opening of Red Fox Financial on Sept. 10. Photo by Ava Battinelli '26

Marist Red Fox Financial (MRFF), a student-powered initiative created through a partnership between Marist University and Hudson Valley Credit Union (HVCU), hosted its grand opening on Sept. 10.

Although this branch has been operating since February, the recent celebration at Dyson marked a recognition of hard work and collaboration between those at HVCU and Marist students and staff.  

Jackson Willis ‘25, co-founder of MRFF, returned to Marist after graduating in the spring to speak at the grand opening and witness the success of the initiative that he and co-founder Layla Keen ‘25 helped bring to life. 

“It's pretty surreal,” he said. “There were a lot of ups and downs. There were a lot of times when I didn't think that we would reach this point, but we did it with a lot of hard work and consistency, staying very persistent and ultimately, it's great to see everything come to fruition.”

MRFF's mission lies in educating students about financial literacy, professional growth and real-world experience, as well as creating an opportunity for student workers to gain hands-on experience in financial management, through its partnership with HVCU. 

“It's an amazing opportunity to participate in the organization and then also participate in the services on this,” said relationship advisor Natalie Leone ‘26. “It's not only leadership opportunities, but it's the convenience of having the branch on campus, and students to be able to work within the branch and with HVCU as a whole.”

Since opening in February, MRFF has welcomed more than 50 members, is approaching $3.1 million in deposits and has hired 12 student employees. It is also HVCU’s first cashless branch and includes a mock board for student leadership development.

“[We are now] one of only three in the country, where students run a real-life branch of a credit union,” said Marist President Kevin Weinman. “The fact that the students hatched this idea and worked tirelessly for a couple of years to make it happen is even more gratifying, and to have this right on campus. It's great for experiential learning, and it's a branch of a bank where our faculty, staff and students can use it as customers. It really just checks all the boxes.”

The idea was initially brought up through Dean Jay Pantaleo, who also serves as the Chair of the Board at HVCU. However, this project was accomplished through the leadership of a small group of student founders, Diana Salazar ‘24, Keen, Leone and Willis, making the development of the initiative an experiential learning experience in itself. 

“Experiential learning allows students to gain knowledge, skills and abilities through direct experience,” said William Lamb, the Dean of the School of Management. “This way of teaching has a long history at Marist, and expanding the use of experiential learning is a critical part of the strategic plan for the school manager.”

As for the future, Shyamal Amin '26, president of MRFF, said the initiative is focusing on financial literacy events; helping students prepare for managing their finances after college is their main focus. They are also focusing on assisting with the brand, opening more accounts and financial products tailored towards students.

“I can only imagine that the current team and the future teams to come will continue to expand on that and grow,” said Keen. “I'm so excited to see everything you guys do.”