Finance competition
Cab Calloway first, Smyrna second in Delaware Personal Finance Challenge
11:35 a.m., April 30, 2012--High school students from across the state of Delaware gathered Wednesday, April 25, on the University of Delaware campus in Newark to showcase their knowledge of a subject that might seem foreign to many people their age -- personal finance.
Eight teams from seven different Delaware high schools went head to head in the 2012 Delaware Personal Finance Challenge. The teams underwent four phases of quizzing for this year’s challenge.
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The first two rounds were individual tests that focused on money management and credit and risk. The third round focused on saving and investing and all of the scores combined decided the final two teams to participate in the fourth and final round, the quiz bowl.
Before Cab Calloway School of the Arts faced off with Smyrna High School's Team Yellow in the Jeopardy-style final quiz bowl round, Bank of America representatives addressed the students and presented them with certificates of participation.
For the past four years Bank of America has sponsored the competition. The company was represented at the competition by Connie Montaña, vice president, and Bank of America volunteers Erin Barber, John O’Connor, Lynne Marie DeVaughn, and Karen Raison.
“This experience is going to give you grounding,” said Montaña, “no matter what path you take in life money management skills will be beneficial.”
Cab Calloway then took the win in the quiz bowl.
“The challenge inspired me to learn about applicable skills I can use for the rest of my life,” said Thurston Brevett, a member of the Cab Calloway team. "Instead of doing something to just get ahead or to put on my resume, it’s something I can use right off the bat.”
The winning Cab Calloway team also included Alina Ehsan, Jack Sherry and Jeff Xu, and was led by teacher Ed Killheffer.
Each team was made up of four students, each enrolled in the Keys to Financial Success course at their respective schools. The teams competed for a chance to win $1,000 individual savings bonds and a paid trip to the national competition, to be held in St. Louis on May 14.
Student participants from Smyrna's Team Yellow were Lauren Gaston, Laura Federico, Akeem Norris and Keith Shoun -- under the guidance of teacher Brian Nabb -- each received a $500 U.S. Savings Bond for their second-place win.
The goal of the Keys to Financial Success course is to better equip young people with the knowledge necessary to have strong financial futures. This course is the only high school education program in Delaware that offers in-depth training on money management skills.
This year’s competition welcomed several new schools to the lineup, including Lake Forest High School, Smyrna High School and Charter School of Wilmington. Other teams included in the challenge were Archmere Academy, Mount Pleasant High School and Padua Academy.
The Personal Finance Challenge is sponsored by Bank of America, the Delaware Council on Economic Education and UD's Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship, and receives national funding from the Calvin K. Kazanjian Foundation and the Nebraska Council on Economic Education.
Article by Arianne Minch