Changing futures

The payoff for Tyler Kuhn’s work sometimes pops up while he’s grocery shopping or gassing up his car.

“People will run up to me and thank me for teaching a financial literacy class they took a few months earlier,” says Kuhn, community relations officer at $470 million asset Dover (Del.) Federal Credit Union. “They tell me how they’ve changed their financial lives and how it’s all working out. There’s no better reward than that.”

Kuhn, 25, joined the credit union two years ago after graduating college with a marketing degree. In that short time, he has earned a reputation as a passionate financial literacy advocate and for working long hours—sometimes nine to 12 hours a day.

“If I know I’m helping someone, working those hours doesn’t bother me at all,” he says. “Someone’s life could change based on the knowledge I share.”

In the past 18 months, Kuhn—who also works with public relations, community sponsorships, volunteer events, nonprofits, and select employee groups (SEGs)—has taught more than 300 financial literacy classes.

“I’ve created my own classes and lesson plans for children, seniors, high schoolers, some SEGs, and people in their 20s and 30s,” Kuhn says. “We try to tailor all of the classes to those who participate.”

Deb Jewell, Dover Federal’s director of marketing, says Kuhn’s commitment and verve have been infectious.

“His energy and personal approach influence others,” she says. “From the results he yields to the positive energy he creates, there is no one else who operates at this capacity this early in their career.”

Kuhn received the Cooperative Credit Union Association’s 2017 Young Professional of the Year Award and Dover Federal’s Mary Lovisone Award for being its employee of the year.

Outside the office, he coaches children’s soccer and volunteers with the Special Olympics of Delaware.

When Kuhn joined Dover Federal, he saw his role as a job. Today, he sees it as a calling.

“Credit unions aren’t just saying it—they are people helping people,” he says. “In the process, they are helping people change their futures.”