(Chelsea Update would like to thank Matt Pedlow for the information and photos in this story.)
For a 2nd straight year, a team from Chelsea High School won the Michigan State Finals for the Personal Finance Championship and will return to the Nationals Finals to defend the title.
The National Personal Finance Challenge provides middle and high school students (grades 6-12) with an exciting and motivating opportunity to build, apply and showcase their knowledge of this important subject, according to information about the competition.
The Chelsea team of Drew Vanderspool, Briana Hay, Carly O’Neill, and Jack Conlin prevailed, 12-6, to move on to the national finals.
And, not only did Chelsea win the competition, students from the high school also took second place.
The 2nd place team was comprised of Hayley Townsend, Mikey Tarasow, Kyra Van Batavia, and Wes Wickens.
Students across the country compete on the state level, with state winners advancing to the National Finals, which will take place on Friday, May 10 at the University of Nebraska Lincoln College of Business.
“The kids all did incredibly well and carried themselves with professionalism throughout the competition,” said teacher Matt Pedlow, who added, “I’m incredibly proud of the students, judges in both room commented on how well our kids presented the financial recommendations.”
After students throughout Michigan take online tests in personal finance, the top 14 teams are invited to the MI State Finals at the Detroit Federal Reserve Bank.
Students are then given a case study that looks at a fictional family and their income, debts, taxes, savings, and how they are currently budgeting their money. They have two hours to develop a financial plan and they pitch their idea to a group of financial planners who act as judges for the competition.
At the competition, there are two rooms, and the Chelsea teams were in separate rooms. After all of the teams present their findings, the top team from each room advances to the final quiz bowl.
For the first time, two teams from the same school were picked to move on, so it was Chelsea v. Chelsea for the state title.
Chelsea High School won the national title last year so is looking to win back to back titles for the first time.
“Both teams prepared for the state finals by learning about saving and investing, and they felt very prepared as they discussed their financial strategies with the judges,” Pedlow said, adding, “I am so proud of all 8 of these students to finish in first and second place.”
The quiz bowl component covers financial questions such as “According to the FTC, what is the most common type of identity theft in the US?” (credit card), or “According to the Federal Reserve, what is the average monthly student loan payment not in deferment?” ($393).
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Good for them! It’s good to know Chelsea does well in financial knowledge competitions.