Delbarton Economists Place 4th at EU Challenge
Jessica Fiddes
Posted May 1, 2012
Earlier we reported that on April 30, 2012 a team of five Delbarton economists, Will Pagano '14, Abhinav Karale '15, Augie Atencio '14, Sid Balaji '14, and Mark O'Meara '15, was competing against 20 other high school teams in the semi-final round of this year's Euro Challenge at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Our Delbarton team made the final cut to the last round and, after a tense afternoon of presentations and Q&As, Delbarton emerged in fourth place out of over 100 teams from around the country. Way to lever up*, boys!
Over one hundred high school teams from 18 states and the District of Columbia originally entered the contest and regional competitions reduced the field to the 25 semi-finalists. After the semi-finalists competed in the morning session, five were selected for the finals. All five teams were deemed winners in the eyes of EU Challenge organizers and received cash prizes. The top two teams also were awarded trips to Washington, DC.
Delbarton competitor Augie Autencio '14 reports that the EU Challenge was a valuable learning experience. All that team work paid off. After the finals the boys attended a reception at Moody's headquarters -- with its great view of the new Freedom Tower -- where the boys mingled with the other teams as they awaited the results.
"One of the most exciting moments of the day, in my opinion," says Atencio, "was when the field was narrowed down to five finalist teams. The whole room was dead silent as they announced the team names and when we heard that Delbarton had made it we were all incredibly happy."
For seven years the Euro Challenge has offered American high school students an opportunity to learn about the European Union, a collection of twenty-seven very different EU economies -- from Germany and Greece to Luxembourg and Latvia -- with different languages, cultures and financial profiles. What do the countries have in common? All share the euro as a single currency. Freshman Abhinav Karale '15 reports that this year's EU Challenge sparked in him a newfound interest to learn more about the euro zone. He was also commendably confident that the Delbarton team would make it to the final five: "I had a strong feeling we would make it to the finals, because our team was solid in the semifinals, and we nailed the Q/A."
O'Meara thought the EU experience was "a blast". While the questions in the last round were difficult, the team held its own. "The competition was fun and we got to meet many new kids from all over the east coast." Balaji reports, "...we put on a great show and were a force to be reckoned with...what I think the team is most proud of is how we improved out knowledge and presenting skills...We also got the opportunity to meet some very important people who play large roles in the global economy."
We commend our five EU teammates for the time, research and talent each contributed to this year's Challenge. Karales who, as a freshman, has one more year of eligibility says "I am looking forward to doing this challenge again next year."
Today the EU, tomorrow the world...Go Wave Economists!
A Teaching Moment
Let's talk finance*. In Wall Street parlance what is a 'dead cat bounce' ...'painting the tape'...'rubber band effect'? Find out here. What are the European Union equivalents? Click here for The Book of Jargon - European Capital Markets and Bank Finance.
