Financial Literacy Program Developed by Fairmont State Alumnus Planned for Incoming 2024 Freshman

Not all students at Fairmont State University come from West Virginia. Or even the United States.

In 1995, a young man named Danijel Velicki left his home in Croatia to enter an international student exchange program in the United States. With little advanced word about where he would go, Velicki landed in Fairmont, W.Va., and attended East Fairmont High School for his senior year.

As with most students who participate in international exchange programs, Velicki relied on his gregarious nature to adapt to local norms. He also fell in lockstep with American youth by ignoring everyday money matters.

“I didn’t have any kind of education when it came to personal finances,” Velicki said. “I misused credit cards, I forgot a payment—which is one of the worst things to do for your credit score. I blew money on stupid things and didn’t save.”

When it was time to choose a university, Fairmont State was the obvious choice for Velicki. It had already been decided that he would earn his education in the United States. “The plan was always to go to college outside of Croatia,” Velicki said. “We had just come out of a four-year war, and my parents and I thought I would have better opportunities elsewhere.”

Velicki had to find a way to pay for his education. He had been working at Muriale’s Italian Kitchen in Fairmont, where the owner, Rocco Muriale, had come to trust Velicki as a reliable employee.

Not wanting to risk the relationship with his mentor, but still wanting to find a viable way to pay for his education, Velicki took a chance by asking Muriale to help him pay for college.

But it wouldn’t be a gift. Velicki asked for a loan to pay for college, which he would pay back in full. Muriale agreed.

The agreement with Muriale was essentially a springboard for Velicki’s future. He double majored in business and marketing and received his bachelor’s degree from Fairmont State in 2000.

Velicki gradually paid Muriale back, and that experience gave him a small insight into money management. Velicki has remained on good terms with the restauranteur, something that doesn’t always happen when money is involved in a mentor-student relationship.

With a business degree under his belt, Velicki began his career as a financial representative for Dukes & Stein, a financial planning and investment firm in Virginia Beach. He hasn’t slowed since.

Today, Velicki is CEO of Sqwire, a Norfolk, Va., firm he started in 2019. According to the website, “Sqwire exists to help families and individuals grow in financial confidence and security by providing financial education that is hopeful, respectful and fun.”

Even as his business grew, another idea persisted. Velicki wanted to help young people understand their relationship with money. He began to think about a program that would illustrate basic principles of financial literacy without the common pitfalls of financial planning workshops. He began to work on a program that would be interesting and immediately useful.

“Things would have been much easier if I had some basic financial know-how,” Velicki said. “I learned one painful lesson after another about managing money. Young people can benefit greatly if they have a good understanding of the power of their money.”

In the platform’s development stage, Velicki presented his idea to a number of university presidents, and he surveyed more than 1,000 college students. When his idea was overwhelmingly supported, Velicki went to work refining the platform.

Earlier this year, Velicki launched his financial literacy platform, called Higher Ed, which has already been incorporated into freshman orientation classes at several universities around the country.

“Realizing that financial literacy is a critical life skill and one that many people shy away from, Danijel decided to develop an engaging financial literacy virtual course,” Fairmont State University Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dianna Phillips said. “The course is designed specifically to engage and teach college students.”

Fairmont State will begin offering the program in January 2024. It’s set up in modules, so students can choose from many topics, including credit, debt, healthy habits and long-term strategies.

What sets Velicki’s platform apart from other financial management programs is its user-friendly approach. Real life examples are incorporated into the modules, and the “lessons” don’t feel like lessons at all. Module titles such as “Credit Where it’s Due” and “Salary Ain’t Everything” offer some hint as to the platform’s friendly design.

It quickly became clear that Velicki’s brainchild would be helpful to many people, not just college students. As Higher Ed has gained momentum, other organizations have signed on, including the U.S. Air Force and several hundred U.S. commercial businesses.

“Danijel is a proud alumnus of Fairmont State University,” Phillips said. “He came to Fairmont as an exchange student from Croatia, completed his bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in finance and went on to found his own, very successful company.”

Velicki will soon begin the next chapter in his own education. He was accepted into an exclusive online MBA program through the University of Oxford, known worldwide as a center of learning, teaching and research.

Recently, Velicki enthusiastically agreed to speak at Fairmont State’s 2023 winter commencement ceremony. The topic for his speech? “It’s simple,” Velicki said. “I want to tell them, ‘Anything is possible. You have to think big and go after it. I was in your seat 20-some years ago, and I’m here to tell you anything is possible.’”

One Money Tip that Can Change Your Life from Velicki:

Danijel Velicki teaches people how to be smart with money. “The best advice I ever received was the 50 percent rule,” Velicki says. “Any time you get a raise or a tax refund or you pay something off, take half and immediately put it into a long-term savings plan. After all, you didn’t have it, you aren’t used to it, and you’re not taking away from your living standard. When you put half of it away, you’ll never feel bad about spending that other half on something special like a vacation or new toy.”