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State Treasurer Beth Pearce Awards 1st Place Vermont Treasury Cup Trophy to Essex High School Students

March 11, 2019

MONTPELIER, VT — Students from Essex High School demonstrated their mastery of financial concepts by beating out eight other teams to win the 2019 Vermont Treasury Cup Challenge, a daylong financial education tournament hosted by Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce. High schoolers from across Vermont traveled to the State House on March 8th to test their knowledge of personal finance, economics, and consumer affairs. Second place was won by students from South Burlington High School organized by teacher Jim Shields. Third place went to Missisquoi Valley Union High School students led by educator Jacob Hartman.

“Congratulations to the Essex High School students who survived 16 rounds of intense competition to win the 2019 Treasury Cup Challenge,” said State Treasurer Beth Pearce. “Today’s high schoolers need to navigate an increasingly complex financial world. Even before graduation, these students are faced with important decisions about how they manage credit and save to meet their short- and long-term financial goals. It’s important that we engage Vermont students with educational opportunities to test and boost their financial literacy.”

The Treasury Cup Challenge is a double-elimination tournament where student teams compete in a quiz-show style contest. The winner of the Treasury Cup represents Vermont as a semi-finalist in the National Economic Challenge, a prestigious national financial literacy competition. As the Vermont state champion, Essex High School will compete to determine if they will qualify for the May 18, 2019 national finals in New York City. If the teams score high enough on the online national test in April, they will be invited to the national finals.

“The 2019 Treasury Cup was a fantastic experience for our students,” said educator Charlie Burnett of Essex High School. “They enjoyed the opportunity to match wits with some impressive students from throughout the state of Vermont, and they learned a lot in the process. The competition was stiff, yet the camaraderie among players, coaches, and staff members was even better. Win or lose, my students always come away from the Cup with some new knowledge that is sure to serve them well as they embark on new frontiers in their lives."

Each member of the championship team received a $500 college savings account and members of the second place team a $250 account, donated by the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC). The winning team, Essex High School, has the honor of hosting a large, gold traveling Treasury Cup trophy for the year. Individual trophies were also awarded to students on the first through third place teams.

The tournament was underwritten by VSECU. The Vermont Jump$tart Coalition provided the buzzer system, while Community National Bank donated the grand prize for competing students, a new iPad mini, which was won by a student from U-32. In addition to the support provided by the Treasury Cup’s generous sponsors, the competition was supported with help from members of the State Financial Literacy Working Group, an interagency group of State leaders who focus on advancing financial education for Vermont citizens.

The 1st Place Essex High School team was made up of students Bailey Tetrault, Henry Wu, Nathan Wu, Isabelle Petrucci, Grace Lu, and Jeremy Brennan. The 2nd Place South Burlington High School team was represented by Ragulan Sivakumar, Sriram Sethuraman, and Matthew Vigneau. The 3rd place Missisquoi Valley Union High School team was comprised of Avery Feeley, Mitchell Bourdeau, Jannessa Ryea, and Ethan Flint.

“I want to thank all the students and educators who organized and prepped for the Treasury Cup, as well as the sponsors and volunteers who make this educational event available free-of-charge,” concluded Treasurer Pearce.