York Euro Challenge Team Tops Midwest Region, Heads to Nationals

Submitted by Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205.

York High School’s Euro Challenge team recently competed in and emerged on top in the Midwest Region Euro Challenge competition, beating out teams representing Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Illinois teams included Mundelein High School, Normal Community High School and the Illinois Math and Science Academy. The Midwest Region Euro Challenge competition was hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Indiana University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Participating students must be in either 9th or 10th grade.

The York team is comprised of five sophomores: Matt Anderson, Matt Dardick, Jason Kentra, Meg Quinn and Luke Rozmus. The team was presented with the challenge of choosing a country in the European Union, identifying a problem that country has, and articulating a solution to the problem. The York team chose to do their presentation on Germany's high unemployment rate, using fiscal policy to stimulate economic growth. The students gave a 15-minute presentation in front of a panel of judges from the Federal Reserve of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Economic Education.

According to York Social Studies Teacher and team coach Tamra Carl, “Every member of the team played an important part in the presentation, as they explained the challenges of Germany, the EU and the Euro. Following the presentation, there was a 10-minute Q & A session with the panel of judges from the Federal Reserve. The judges asked questions beyond the presentation material to determine if our students were the best qualified to compete at a higher level. Their preparation and ability to confidently answer the follow-up questions made them stand above the other teams.”

The final round takes place on April 19, 2016, in New York City. There are 10 regions across the country, with a total of 20 teams competing. The students will again be required to give a 15-minute presentation and participate in a 10-minute Q & A follow-up.

The Euro Challenge is a program of the Delegation of the European Union in Washington, D.C. The Delegation supports this innovative academic competition to encourage American students to learn more about the European Union and its single currency, the Euro (€). Students from all over the U.S. are eligible to participate in the Euro Challenge. For further details, please visit www.chicagofed.org/education/econ-classroom/euro-challenge/index.

In 2015, the top five national teams received monetary awards generously provided by The Moody’s Foundation. The awards were $1,250 for each member of the first-place team, $1,000 each for second place, $750 each for third place, $500 each for fourth place and $250 each for fifth place. The Moody’s Foundation also sponsored a trip to Washington, D.C. for the two top teams of 2015. Similar prize levels are anticipated for 2016.​