2006
ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS
The following 15
students in five regions were the top picks in an essay contest
aimed at encouraging financial education among middle and high
school students.
The contest,
“Cash in on Your Money Smarts,” asked students, ages 14 to 18, to
submit at least a 750-word essay answering the question: "If you had $100,000 to invest,
what would you invest in
and why?"
The contest
offered students more than $7,500
in prizes statewide. First, second and third place prizes have
been awarded to
teens in given geographic regions, for a total of 15 winners
statewide. Nearly 900 students participated this year.
The essay
contest was a great way to encourage Florida’s young people to show
off their financial knowledge and writing skills, and reward them
for it. Learning these valuable skills now will pave the way for a
lifetime of financial success.
The fifteen winners named represent
the five
regions that competed in the contest.
In Region 1
the winners are:
First Place:
Douglas Chico,
15, Florida High University School, Tallahassee
Second Place:
Justine Gunderson,
16, Lincoln High
School, Tallahassee
Third Place:
Candice Baugh,
15, Crestview High School, Crestview
In Region 2
the winners are:
First Place:
Rachel Christian,
18, Home-schooled, Fernandina Beach
Second Place:
Alex Whipple,
17, Middleburg High School, Orange Park
Third Place:
Bryan Cowan, 17, Bartram Trail High School,
Jacksonville
In Region 3
the winners are:
First Place:
Han Zhu,
16, St. Petersburg Senior High School, Largo
Second Place:
Francesca Nutt,
17, J.W. Mitchell High School, Holiday
Third Place:
Jared Moody,
17, Palm Harbor University, Palm Harbor
In Region
4 the winners are:
First Place:
Anthony Marchante,
17, Boone High School, Orlando
Second Place:
Maggie David,
16, Vanguard High School, Ocala
Third Place:
Junior Nashan Kemraj,
17, Boone High School, Orlando
In Region 5 the winners are:
First Place:
Brian Bonomi,
16, Home-schooled, Cooper City
Second Place:
Travis Engebretsen,
17, Hobe Sound Christian Academy, Stuart
Third Place:
Amanda Olmstead, 18, Summit Christian School,
Lake Worth
Click on the
names to read the essays.
First, second and third place winners received $750, $500 and $250
respectively.
The essay
contest is part of our statewide public education initiative, Your
Money, Your Life, which is designed to help Floridians stretch
limited budgets, avoid debt and build assets, including savings and
home ownership. The program was started in 2004 in response to a
recent survey reporting that many Floridians put themselves at
financial risk by waiting too late to save and by running up debt.
Financial
support for the “Cash in on Your Money Smarts” essay contest is
provided by a grant from the Investor Protection Trust (IPT). The
IPT is a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education. Since
1993, the IPT has worked with the States to provide the independent,
objective investor education needed by all Americans to make
informed investment decisions. Their website is
www.investorprotection.org.
