On April 1, the European Union Center hosted the Midwest preliminary round of the Euro Challenge, an economic policy competition for high school students. Funded by the EU Delegation to the U.S., the Euro Challenge involves teams of 3-5 students giving a 15-minute presentation during which they discuss the current economic situation in the euro area and propose policies to address economic-related challenges. Petia Kostadinova, Erhard Menker, Natasha Panjwani, Stacy Scapino, Phillip Torres, Angela Zaglama, and Daniel Zaglama served as judges.
Before the competition got started, three research assistants (Ila Gupta, Albert Chen, and Joe Jourden) from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago came by the Illini Center to speak to the high school students about studying economics in college, professional development, and pursuing careers in research vs. industry.
This year, seven teams from five schools in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin participated. A team from St. Joseph High School in South Bend, Ind. and a team from Cedarburg High school in Cedarburg, Wisc. are advancing to the semi-final round in New York City.
The European Union Center wishes the two Midwest teams the best of luck as they compete in New York City on April 28!