Students From Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and Georgia Earn Top Honors in the Council for Economic Education’s National Personal Finance Challenge

Capping a school year of tremendous strides in requiring personal finance classes in America’s high schools, 35 teams gathered in Cleveland at the Council for Economic Education’s annual National Personal Finance Challenge (NPFC) showcased how understanding money management and making informed financial choices positions young people on paths to achieve their fullest potential.

Teams from Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and Georgia were named best in the U.S. after rising to the top in a series of statewide and then national academic championships. In all, nearly 15,000 students showcased mastery of the key building blocks of personal economic success including: earning, spending, saving, investing, and managing risk.

At the NPFC final championships, held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, semifinalists were tasked with quickly creating family financial plans, a challenge that required not only knowledge but also critical thinking. The top 16 teams then advanced to the intense “quiz bowl” lightning round where they further showcased their financial acumen. In the end, students from Severn School in Severna Park, Maryland, scored top honors. Teams from Mounds View High School of Minnesota, the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies of New Jersey and Dunwoody High School of Georgia earned recognition as first, second and third runners-up.

“With a foundational understanding of personal finance, young people have the tools they need to make informed financial decisions and create a better life, not only for themselves but also for their families and their communities,” said Nan J. Morrison, CEE’s president and chief executive officer. “High school students who compete in the NPFC not only deepen their personal finance knowledge, but they also develop essential career skills – critical thinking, teamwork, and presentation skills.”

A total of 35 states have moved to require personal finance courses, according to CEE’s biennial Survey of the States. The drive to provide financial education to all students in all high schools has gained momentum among parents, state legislators, education policymakers and students, but, Morrison noted, “too many kids are still left to figure out money and personal finance all by themselves. Our goal is to change that and create equitable access.”

“With a special tip of the hat to our top-scoring teams, we congratulate all the students and teachers who competed in the National Personal Finance Challenge,” Morrison added.

This year, as part of its mission to make secure financial futures possible, Voya Financial and Voya Foundation once again supported CEE’s National Personal Finance Challenge.

“Every student competing at CEE’s National Personal Finance Challenge demonstrated remarkable knowledge that will help them to successfully navigate the financial milestones they will encounter throughout their lives,” said Heather Lavallee, Voya Financial chief executive officer and CEE board member. “At Voya, we know that the benefits of financial literacy are not exclusive to any one career path, and that’s why we’re committed to working with organizations like CEE to enable all young people to study personal finance, maximize their potential, and have the best opportunity to lead financially secure lives.”

Winning schools, team members and teachers in the 2023 NPFC national finals are:

• First place: Severn School, Severna Park, MD
  • Grady Gelston, Thomas Parsch, Sam Salinas & Rowan Ward
  • Teacher/Coach: Julien Meyer
• First runner-up: Mounds View High School, Arden Hills, MN
  • Victoria Farmer, Maya Gjelhaug, Katherine Schneider & Allison Yu
  • Teacher/Coach: Aaron Oseland
• Second runner-up: Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies, Edison, NJ
  • Isaac Chan, Srivarun Kankanala, Mahanth Komuravelli, & Arya Rathi
  • Teacher/Coach: Nikita Patil
• Third runner-up: Dunwoody High School, Dunwoody, GA
  • Jonah Horwitz, Wendell Rogers & Bhavya Shah
  • Teacher/Coach: Laura Lampron

All members of each finalist team receive a cash prize.

About the Council for Economic Education

The Council for Economic Education’s (CEE’s) mission is to equip K–12 students with the tools and knowledge of personal finance and economics so that they can make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. We carry out our mission in three ways. We advocate to require financial and economic education in every state. We provide training, tools, and resources — online and live through over 180 affiliates nationwide — to more than 40,000 teachers annually, who in turn bring the highest quality economics and personal finance instruction to over 4 million students. We deepen knowledge and introduce high school students to critical career capabilities through our national competitions and Invest in Girls program. Learn more at CouncilForEconEd.org and on LinkedIn and on Facebook.

About Voya Financial^®

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), is a leading health, wealth and investment company with 7,200 employees who are focused on achieving Voya’s aspirational vision: Clearing your path to financial confidence and a more fulfilling life. Through products, solutions and technologies, Voya helps its 14.7 million individual, workplace and institutional clients become well planned, well invested and well protected. Benefitfocus, a Voya company, extends the reach of Voya’s workplace benefits and savings offerings by providing benefits administration capabilities to 16.5 million individual subscription employees across employer and health plan clients. Certified as a “Great Place to Work” by the Great Place to Work® Institute, Voya is purpose-driven and equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible. Voya has earned recognition as: one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute; a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index; and a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” on the Disability Equality Index. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (Twitter).

For more information, to arrange interviews and obtain school team photos

cee@successioncommunications.com

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Learning personal finance gives young people tools to make informed financial decisions & create better lives for themselves & their communities. @CouncilEconEd congratulates USA's top teams from MD, MN, NJ & GA in the National Personal Finance Challenge.