Competition challenged students on their knowledge of the European economy.
Mount Saint Mary mathematics chair Kathleen Brennan and Euro Challenge Team members Emrit Nijjar, Emma King, Erica MacDonald, Gabriela Rivera, Grace Schleck, and social studies department chair Alicia Iacono won first place at the Euro Challenge. WATCHUNG -- A team of students from Mount Saint Mary Academy took first place in the Euro Challenge, a competition that tests high school students on their knowledge of the European economy and the euro.
Sponsored by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, the Euro Challenge requires students to examine the economic situations in the 19 countries that use the euro, and then hone in on an issue facing one of those countries.
After completing months of research, teams of three to five students use their data to make a presentation and then field questions from a panel of judges at the competition. The Mount Saint Mary team focused on Germany, examining the fiscal and demographic challenges associated with the aging population in that country.
The Mount Saint Mary team, led by coaches Kathleen Brennan and Alicia Iacono, was one of 100 teams to participate in this year's competition, which culminated April 26 at the New York Federal Reserve Bank in New York City. A team of students from Princeton High School finished second.
"This was an invaluable experience for us," said team member Erica MacDonald of Westfield, a sophomore. "Our coaches prepared us to the point that no detail was left behind, that we were able to offer a solid, perfect presentation that was thoroughly thought-out with no loopholes."
"Our teachers gave us the tools to form our own opinions," said sophomore Gabriela Rivera of Clinton.
The top five teams received monetary awards and the top two teams will travel to Washington, D.C., to present their findings to the embassy of the country they researched.
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