RIIL Students & Schools Cash In Big on Navigant CU Financial Trivia Challenge
Navigant Credit Union delivering $10K in grants & scholarships to RIIL schools
Representatives from the Rhode Island Interscholastic League and Navigant Credit Union were back out on the roads this week with their ceremonial check in hand, traveling from Cranston to Burrillville to Pawtucket to recognize the top performing students and schools in the second annual Financial Trivia Challenge.
Open to RIIL-member high school and middle school students, the second annual Financial Trivia Challenge, sponsored by Navigant Credit Union, was a fun way for students to test their financial literacy through a virtual program. From February 2nd to March 17th, participants could log into the app and answer as many financial trivia questions as possible within 2 minutes. Students were welcome to take the challenge up to 30 times to try and improve their score, while comparing their results with others from across the state.
Nearly 1,800 students from 28 cities and towns participated in the challenge over the last month and a half.
“Navigant Credit Union’s mission is to continue and improve the financial wellbeing of the communities we serve, and the schools are just a big part of that,” said Amanda LaRose, Navigant Credit Union’s Assistant Vice President of Financial Education. “When I go to schools day in and day out to talk about banking or budgeting or credit, I see it full circle . . . We’re just helping steer them in the right direction and give them some tools along the way.”
LaRose and Robert Gaitan from Navigant Credit Union visited the winning schools with RIIL representatives on Tuesday and Wednesday to begin delivering some of the $10,000 in scholarships and grants that Navigant Credit Union is awarding to the top performing students and participating schools.
Their first stop on Tuesday morning was at Cranston High School West, where LaRose, Navigant Credit Union’s Assistant Vice President of Financial Education, presented a check for $1,250 to a group of students and teachers gathered in the main foyer. In addition to winning $1,000 for being the high school with the highest participation in the challenge, Cranston West also picked up another $250 as one of the first four high schools to have at least 20 students take the challenge when it first launched.
Snapshots from Tuesday's check presentation at Cranston High School West.
From there the “prize patrol” headed north to Burrillville Middle School, where LaRose presented another ceremonial check for $1,250 to a small assembly of math teachers and their students, who had helped Burrillville be one of the first four middle schools to reach 20 students and also to finish as the middle school with the highest participation in the challenge.
Navigant CU's Amanda LaRose, second from left, and RIIL Executive Director Mike Lunney, third from right, present a ceremonial check to Burrillville Middle School.
In addition, LaRose presented Burrillville Middle School eighth-grader Jenessa Tatro with a $500 check for finishing as the top scoring middle school student in the state. Burrillville placed three other students in the top 10. Luke Farrar will receive $150 for finishing third, while Logan Langlois and Kelsi Razee will each receive $75 for placing sixth and ninth, respectively.
RIIL Executive Director Mike Lunney and Navigant CU's Amanda LaRose pose with middle school winner Jenessa Tatro and Burrillville MS Principal Matt Velino.
“At the Interscholastic League, we’re so proud of this initiative because it’s not just about sports,” Lunney told the Burrillville students. “When you have school sports, they’re education based. That’s what we always talk about. So it’s not just about being able to go out and play your sports and win championships, which is all great. But it’s also about what you can learn.”
Burrillville MS Principal Matt Velino poses with Burrillville's top-scoring Financial Trivia Challenge students.
On Wednesday morning, RIIL Executive Director Mike Lunney and Gaitan, branch manager for Navigant Credit Union’s Pawtucket location, visited William E. Tolman Senior High School, where they briefly interrupted Robert D’Arezzo’s DECA class to inform junior Cody Santiago that he had finished with the highest score among high school students across the state. Santiago, who is considering studying business at Rhode Island College after graduating from Tolman, said he will likely put his $500 winnings toward his education.
Juan Santos, the top-scoring high school student last year, also hailed from Mr. D’Arezzo’s class, which this year helped Tolman earn $500 as the third-ranked high school and another $250 as one of the first high schools to register 20 players.
RIIL Executive Director Mike Lunney and Navigant CU Pawtucket branch manager Robert Gaitan present a ceremonial check to Tolman junior Cody Santiago during Tolman teacher Robert D'Arezzo's class.
Lincoln High School and Smithfield High School also received the $250 bonus to go along with prizes for finishing second ($750) and fourth ($250), respectively.
Lincoln High School ($1,000 – second place) and Smithfield High School ($500 – fourth place).
The top middle schools after Burrillville included Dr. Edward R. Ricci Middle School of North Providence ($1,000 prize for second place plus the bonus), Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School of Coventry ($750 prize for third place plus the bonus) and Jamestown Lawn Middle School ($250 prize for fourth place).
“I think it’s a huge benefit to our schools and to our students that we’re partnering with [the RIIL] with this challenge,” LaRose said, “because not only are our students learning, but I guarantee some of the parents and some of the family members are learning, too.”
Navigant suggests that students also can continue learning about personal finance with the Navigant Credit Union Embark Account, a digital-focused, no-fees account, made for self-made teens. More information on this available at: https://navigantcu.org/personal/embark-account/
