History
Beginnings at Penn
Common Cents, Penn's first and only personal finance club, was founded in Fall 2019 by John Ta (MLS '22) and Vivek Olumbe (W '23, SEAS '23). John first conceived of the idea for the club when one of his friends asked him about applying for his first credit card, but didn't know what a credit score was. He realized that many students lacked the fundamental understanding of personal finance and that it was crucial to address this knowledge gap in a way that was tailored to the needs of undergraduates, whose decisions in college could affect their financial futures for years after graduation. Thus, Common Cents Collaborative was born.
Common Cents at Penn became SAC recognized in Fall 2021, and we joined the Penn Wellness umbrella organization in Spring 2023. We are currently a Wharton Council Emerging Club as of Fall 2023.
Intercollegiate Expansion
Common Cents Collaborative opened its second collegiate chapter at Johns Hopkins in September 2020. We further expanded to Cornell in October 2021. Our newest chapter is at Florida State University, opening its doors to members in September 2022.
Past Leadership
Spring 2024
President: Ethan Blum (CAS '25)
Vice President: Gina Ryu (W '26)
Vice President: Juan Lopez Ramos (W '25)
Vice President: Mehak Dhaliwal (CAS '26)
Marketing & Design Chair: Elaine Sun (CAS '25)
Content Chair: Jacky Zheng (CAS '25)
Event Planning Chair: Justin Yip (CAS '27)
Finance Chair: Melissa Domen (W '27)
Affairs Chair: Erin Hong (W '26)
Growth Chair: Brody Pellegrino (W '27)
Web/Tech & Analytics Chair: Nikki Liu (CAS '27)
Fall 2023
President: Michael Sun (W '24, SEAS '24)
Vice President: Ethan Blum (CAS '25)
Vice President: Juan Lopez Ramos (W '25)
Vice President: Gina Ryu (W '26)
Marketing & Design Chair: Elaine Sun (CAS '25)
Content Chair: Mehak Dhaliwal (CAS '26)
Event Planning Chair: Alex Prayner (W ‘25)
Finance Chair: Melissa Domen (W '27)
Affairs Chair: Erin Hong (CAS '26)
Growth Chair: Justin Chu (CAS '24)
Web/Tech & Analytics Chair: Eric Chen (W ‘26, SEAS ‘26)
Spring 2023
Co-Presidents: Ashleigh Huang (W '25) and Jovan Mann (CAS '24)
Vice President: Gloria Cheng (W '26, Nu '26)
Vice President: Juan Lopez Ramos (W '25)
Vice President: Michael Sun (W '24, SEAS '24)
Content Chair: Sierra Wei (CAS '25)
Event Planning Chair: Yoonseo Kim (W '25, CAS '25)
Marketing & Design Chair: Elaine Sun (CAS '25)
Finance Chair: Katie Oh (W '26)
Affairs Chair: Gina Ryu (CAS '26)
Growth Chair: Justin Chu (CAS '25)
Web/Tech & Analytics Chair: Ryan De Lopez (W '25, SEAS '25)
Fall 2022
President: Angie Zhou (W '23)
Vice President: Katherine Han (W '24)
Vice President: Ashleigh Huang (W '25)
Vice President: Jovan Mann (CAS '24)
Vice President: Michael Sun (W '24, SEAS '24)
Vice President: Isabelle Lee (CAS '24)
Content Chair: Michael Sun (W '24, SEAS '24)
Event Planning Chair: Gloria Cheng (W '26, Nu '26)
Marketing & Design Chair: Elaine Sun (CAS '25)
Internal Finance Chair: Juan Lopez Ramos (W '25)
External Finance Chair: Poojan Pansuriya (W '25)
Affairs Chair: Gloria Cheng (W '26, Nu '26)
Web/Tech & Analytics Chair: Ryan De Lopez (W '25, SEAS '25)
Growth Chair: Justin Chu (CAS '24)
Spring 2022
President: Angie Zhou (W '23)
Vice President: Katherine Han (W '24)
Vice President: Ashleigh Huang (W '25)
Vice President: Jovan Mann (CAS '24)
Vice President: Liz Sunga (CAS '24)
Vice President: Rikki Kong (W '24)
Content Chair: Benjamin Ai (CAS '24)
Event Planning Chair: Shivani Desai (W '25)
Marketing Chair: Isabelle Lee (CAS '24)
Design Chair: Maxine Fang (W '23)
Internal Finance Chair: Poojan Pansuriya (W '25)
External Finance Chair: Michelle Zhang (W '24)
Affairs Chair: Gloria Cheng (W '26, Nu '26)
Web/Tech & Analytics Chair: Ryan De Lopez (W '25, SEAS '25)
Growth Chair: Justin Chu (CAS '24)
Fall 2021
President: John Ta (MLS '22)
Senior Vice President: Vivek Olumbe (W '23, SEAS '23)
Vice President: Angie Zhou (W '23)
Vice President: Winni Zhang (W '23)
Vice President: Rikki Kong (W '23)
Content Chair: Benjamin Ai (CAS '24)
Event Planning Chair: Liz Sunga (CAS '24)
Marketing Chair: Matthew Friedman (W '24)
Design Chair: Maxine Fang (W '23)
Internal Finance Chair: Katherine Han (W '24)
External Finance Chair: Michelle Zhang (W '24)
Affairs Chair: Jovan Mann (CAS '24)
Technology/Analytics Chair: Aryan Singh (SEAS '24)
Growth/Business Development Chair: Hanna Tulchinsky (W '24)
Spring 2021
President: John Ta (MLS '22)
Senior Vice President: Vivek Olumbe (W '23, SEAS '23)
Vice President: Graham Branscom (W '23)
Vice President: Angie Zhou (W '23)
Vice President: Winni Zhang (W '23)
Vice President: Rikki Kong (W '23)
Content Chair: Hannah Xiao (CAS '23)
Marketing Chair: Matthew Friedman (W '24)
Design Chair: Winni Zhang (W '23)
Finance Chair: Michelle Zhang (W '24)
Media Chair: Katherine Han (W '24)
Affairs Chair: Jovan Mann (CAS '24)
Analytics Chair: Aryan Singh (SEAS '24)
Growth Chair: Hanna Tulchinsky (W '24)
Fall 2020
President: John Ta (MLS '22)
Vice President: Vivek Olumbe (W '23, SEAS '23)
Marketing Chair: Angie Zhou (W '23)
Content Chair: Hannah Xiao (CAS '23)
Strategic Finance Chair: Vivek Olumbe (W '23, SEAS '23)
Design Chair: Winni Zhang (W '23)
Social Chair: Rikki Kong (W '24)
Fall 2019 and Spring 2020
President: John Ta (MLS '22)
Vice President: Vivek Olumbe (W '23, SEAS '23)
Marketing Chair: Angie Zhou (W '23)
Finance Chair: Hannah Xiao (CAS '23)
Design Chair: Winni Zhang (W '23)