Personal Finance Challenge
High school students compete at event hosted by UD Center for Economic Education, Entrepreneurship
3:48 p.m., April 28, 2016--Some adults might have difficulty explaining why a mortgage is considered a better debt than a car loan or what type of life insurance provides the most coverage for the least cost, but the right answers are no problem for 36 Delaware high school students who recently competed in the eighth annual Personal Finance Challenge at the University of Delaware.
The Personal Finance Challenge invites Delaware high school students and teachers who use the Keys to Financial Success curriculum, created by UD’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE) in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, to use their skills to compete for prizes and the Delaware state title.
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Participating students have worked with the Keys curriculum, which focuses on real-life situations and gets students engaged in the learning process, to prepare for the challenge. Research has shown that the curriculum helps students to learn critical personal finance skills, with students improving their personal finance knowledge by more than 60 percent.
With these new skills, the first place team from Smyrna High School won the day’s series of interactive challenges. Each team member received $1,000 and a trip to Kansas City to compete in the National Personal Finance Challenge competition, hosted by the Missouri Council on Economic Education.
The winning team included students Kasey Euren, Grant Dinsmore, Andrew Ridenour and Justina Bottomley and was led by teacher Tad Broomall.
“It is a real honor to win the Personal Finance Challenge for the state of Delaware!” Broomall said. “Every year there are so many competitive schools with great teachers and coaches that it is really amazing to finish at the top.
“It is difficult to decide on my favorite thing about the challenge since everything about it is great,” he continued. “Being able to bring four of my hardest working students and have them recognized for the time and effort they choose to put in is pretty fantastic.”
Broomall added that the Personal Finance Challenge gives his students a chance to be competitive in an academic setting and to see the rewards that can come from academic success.
“I think it gave them all a new confidence about themselves, which is awesome to witness.”
The team is both excited and nervous to compete in the national competition in Kansas City, he said.
“This is something none of us will forget.”
Broomall also thanked UD, Bank of America and Smyrna High School for allowing the team to take the day to participate in the challenge.
This school support certainly paid off, as another team from Smyrna High School won second place in the competition.
Naomi Bowser, Nikki Pratt, Garret Tolliver and Emily Youngcourt made up that team, with teacher Mario Tiberi leading.
Both Tiberi and Broomall are current students in the CEEE’s master of arts in economics and entrepreneurship for educators (MAEEE) program at UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics. The MAEEE program is designed to equip educators with strategies for teaching economics, entrepreneurship and financial education.
Bank of America has been a critical partner with the Delaware Council on Economic Education (DCEE) and the CEEE in bringing the Keys curriculum and the Personal Finance Challenge to Delaware students. Each year a team of Bank of America volunteers visits UD to help facilitate the Personal Finance Challenge.
“A sound financial education for our children is a critical first step toward financial stability and ultimately, financial independence,” said Connie Montaña, Bank of America community relations manager for Delaware and long-time Personal Finance Challenge volunteer.
“Our students are our future consumers, employees and leaders,” she continued. “When we help them develop a solid foundation for their financial futures, we contribute to the shared success of our children, our company and our community.”
Article by Sunny Rosen
Photos by Evan Krape