High schoolers meet for quiz bowl title during Money Smart Week

DETROIT – Understanding personal finance can be difficult for adults, often because they didn't learn about it in school. But that trend is changing for high schoolers who are getting the message about good personal finance habits.

It's Money Smart Week all across Michigan, and high schoolers who have been learning about money and what it does and what it means to them showed off their skills Monday at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Detroit Branch.

Local 4's Rod Meloni was asked to be the host for the state championship money quiz bowl."

Michigan Council of Economic Education President Derek D'Angelo hosted Monday's event at the Federal Reserve.

"We connect with the real world," D'Angelo said. "We connect it to things they see in their daily life whether it be budgeting, whether it be student loans that they don't want to have around their necks as they go off to college and make sure we bring it to life in that way."

More than 800 Michigan high schoolers took online tests to show off their financial chops. The top 20 teams came together Monday in Detroit to battle for a spot in the State Championship Quiz Bowl.

Two four-person teams from the International Academy of Birmingham and Lake Orion High School faced off. The students were on their game, and in the end, Lake Orion emerged as the champion.

The All State personal finance MVP was Kurtis Portier.

"It was a blast," Portier said. "Your heart's beating. You feel the pressure to press that button. You don't know when the other team is going to press the button. I want to thank my teacher, Mr. McGloughlin."

Other players who came away with better financial understanding said the event was on par with athletic championships.

"There were things I learned here I had never seen in class, so it was a real fun time," one student said.

"We weren't expecting to make it to the top two teams in the quiz bowl and so that competition was fun," said another student. "We are going for ice cream afterward so we are looking forward to that."

A $50 book about Wall Street was the door prize for every student who attended. Hundreds of other Money Smart events will be held all week, most of them at a library near you.

If you want to attend one of the events, click here to view the Money Smart schedule.


About the Author:

Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional.