Mt. Hebron HS Students Win National Economics Challenge

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Two teams of students from Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicott City won this year's premier high school economics competition, the National Economics Challenge.

Organized by the Council for Economic Education, the finals were held recently in Atlanta, Georgia. The team earned first place finishes in both the NEC’s Adam Smith Division for returning, advanced and honors economics students, and the David Ricardo Division for first-time competitors who have taken no more than one economics course.

That's also the eighth straight NEC in which the Howard County public school finished as a national champion or finalist. A total of 16 teams competed at the national finals following their wins in state competitions. Mt. Hebron High School also won international rounds with teams who traveled from China.

“No one expects young people to teach themselves how to read or write,” said Christopher Caltabiano, CEE’s interim chief executive officer and chief program officer. “But too many states let students graduate without teaching them the basic economic principles that are building blocks for success for their lives, their communities and the nation. We congratulate all who taught and learned about economics this year, and all who earned their way to the top in their state and advanced to compete in CEE’s National Economics Challenge finals."

Raphael Bostic, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and a CEE board member, welcomed students to the NEC finals and noted the value of broad access to financial and economic literacy.

“Early economic education can be an important steppingstone for establishing a positive personal trajectory,” Bostic said. “Research and experience tell us that sound economic and financial habits can be established as early as age seven, so the sooner we reach young people, the better. We want today’s young learners to become adults whose decisions maximize well-being for themselves, their families and their communities.”

The 2025 NEC Adam Smith Division winners from the Mt. Hebron High School team include Joseph Jeong, Mehin Pandya, Aadarsh Shah and Vishva Rao, who are coached by Vann Prime.

The 2025 NEC David Ricardo Division winners from Mt. Hebron High School team are Daksh Mathapati, Tanvi Anand, Caleb Son and Vitus Li. They are coached by Vann Prime.