Dallas experienced the most expensive tornado in Texas history on October 20, 2019. The twister ripped through buildings, turned roads into rubble, and uprooted the lives of many residents.
From the destruction, one Dallas teen, Rishab Siddamshetty, learned the importance of financial literacy and has worked to share his knowledge with others.
Rishab’s childhood home was one of the 3,000 homes destroyed during the 2019 Dallas tornado. Rishab, who was 14 at the time, his mother and father ran to the bathroom and huddled together while the house was irreparably destroyed.
“I was just thinking, ‘Please let me live through this,'” said Rishab to CBS. Thankfully the family survived, but on the other hand, their house was gone.
“I opened the door, and there was nothing,” said Arvind Siddamshetty, Rishab’s father. “In 30 seconds, our life changed.” The house was practically destroyed, and most of their possessions were lost.
Rishab’s family, with the help of the community, began rebuilding their lives piece by piece. From shelter and food to monetary donations, Rishab and his family overcame their dire circumstances.
After the overwhelming support from Dallas, Rishab has dedicated his young life to finding a non-profit called Finance-4 Scholars.
Finance-4 Scholars offers financial training, a business podcast, and a list of top colleges for finance to bridge the financial literacy gap. According to the website, countries with fewer resources, such as Denmark, have a 71% financial literacy rate.
“I found that only 56% of the United States is financially literate … [and has] basic knowledge of what finance is, what a stock is, what investments are,” said Rishab.
Moreover, Finance-4 Scholars claim that the world is becoming more dependent on finance and that “it is only a matter of time before it dominates the job market.”
“Poor financial decision-making equals a lack of success,” the website continues.
As Rishab continues to work with the community, he states his efforts have made a positive impact on the community that helped him and his family after the 2019 tornado.
“I hear from people all the time how they’re using their resources and how they’ve been helped,” said Rishab. “After so many people helped me, I realized it’s my turn to give back.”
