Aurora, Brunswick, Columbia Station students among winners in Cleveland Fed creative writing contest

100 Years of Change: Once Upon a Time…Before TV!

Six students from high schools in northeast and central Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earned the top spots in the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s 2014 Creative Writing Contest,100 Years of Change: Once Upon a Time…Before TV!

Prizes were awarded in two categories: essays and creative writing. The contest winners, along with their topics, high schools, and teachers are:

Essays:

First Place - Prize $500 Cash Gift Card
NASA’s Efforts to Make an Impact on the Economy
Amy Mirecki
Columbia High School
Columbia Station, Ohio
Teacher, John W. Sheridan

Second Place - Prize $250 Cash Gift Card
Interstate Highways: America’s Turning Point
Amanda Whalen
Upper Arlington High School
Upper Arlington, Ohio
Teacher, Scott Shinaberry

Third Place - Prize $100 Cash Gift Card
Computers
Dante Cordaro
Fox Chapel Area High School
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Teacher, Shane Billings

Creative Writing:

First Place - Prize $500 Cash Gift Card
How the Birth Control Pill Revolutionized the Economy
Alexandra Kokinchak
Aurora High School
Aurora, Ohio
Teacher, Jenna Schadle

Second Place - Prize $250 Cash Gift Card
The Credit Card
Tom Branstein
Aurora High School
Aurora, Ohio
Teacher, Jenna Schadle

Third Place - Prize $ 100 Cash Gift Card
Beep, Beep, Beep
Caitlyn Lenhoff
Brunswick High School
Brunswick, Ohio
Teacher, Michelle Flanigan

The winning entries can be found on the Bank’s website.

A total of 344 students participated in the competition, which asked students to answer the questions: What has been the most significant advancement in the past 100 years? What impact has it had on our economy?

The contest, which promotes critical thinking skills and the study of economics, was open to 11th and 12th graders who attend schools in the Fourth Federal Reserve District, an area that includes Ohio, western Pennslyvania, eastern Kentucky, and the panhandle of West Virginia.

The innovations that were cited most frequently by the entrants were the internet, antibiotics, computers, cell/smart phones, and microchips/integrated circuits.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.

The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Media contact

Doug Campbell, doug.campbell@clev.frb.org, 513.218.1892