Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School Economists Capture the Fed Challenge Title in Washington, DC Citibank Awards a Total of $165,000 in Scholarships, Awards and Grants NEW YORK, May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Citibank subsidiary, The Student Loan Corporation, today announced the winners of $165,000 in scholarships, awards and grants for the high school teams competing in The 2004 Fed Challenge. The Fed Challenge, now in its ninth year, is a national high school economics competition, sponsored by participating Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In the competition, teams of high school students from around the country prepare and present analyses of the economy and recommendations for monetary policy in a series of local, regional and national competitions. This year marked the seventh year that Citibank has provided scholarships, awards, and grants for participating teams. Over the past several months, more than 230 teams competed in regional competition for the right to represent their Federal Reserve District in national-level competition. Eight teams, each representing one of the participating Federal Reserve Districts (Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, New York, Richmond, and St. Louis) made it to the national level of competition in Washington, D.C. All eight teams made their recommendations on U.S. monetary policy in the semi-finals on Sunday. Four teams advanced to the finals yesterday. The judges for the final round of competition: Ben S. Bernanke, Board of Governors; J. Alfred Broaddus, President -- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; and Sandra Pianalto, President -- Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. All are members of the Federal Open Market Committee. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan stopped by during the final round of competition with congratulatory remarks for all the partricipatnts. For winning this year's competition, the team from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School of Rumson, NJ representing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, received a $10,000 Citibank Grant for The Fed Challenge. The money will be used to establish or further equip an in-school economics laboratory. The five students on the team -- Kimberly Gittleson, Kevin Johnson, Eric Roberts, Camilla Thees, and Amanda Tomney -- each will receive $7,000 Citibank Scholarships for The Fed Challenge. Their faculty advisor, Joseph Lanza will receive a $5,000 Citibank Grant for The Fed Challenge. "This whole program has been a great experience for our kids. It's a wonderful way to get students excited about economics," said Lanza. "The scholarship money from Citibank's Student Loan Corporation is also a tremendous motivator, as it can make a big difference in helping students handle the rising costs of attending college. We're especially looking forward to putting the grant money to work to promote economic literacy among all our students." Citibank also awarded $25,000 to each of the national finalist teams and $10,000 to each of the national semi-finalist teams representing their Districts in the national competition. They were: Fed Challenge National Finalists: -- High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX -- representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas -- Marquette High School in Chesterfield, MO -- representing the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis -- Shaker Heights High School in Shaker Heights, Oh -- representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Fed Challenge National Semi-Finalists: -- Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT -- representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston -- Saint Catherine's School in Richmond, VA -- representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond -- Saint Joseph High School in South Bend, IN -- representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago -- Westside High School in Omaha, NE -- representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City "Citibank established the Citibank Scholarships, Awards and Grants for The Fed Challenge in 1998 to encourage economic study at the high school level. Each year we're more impressed with the student competitors and the quality of their monetary policy recommendations," said Sue Roberts, President, The Student Loan Corporation. "The Fed Challenge competition clearly encourages students, teachers and parents across the country to learn more about economics and how it impacts their daily lives." For Further Information Students, teachers and parents interested in information on next year's Fed Challenge competition and the Citibank Scholarships, Awards and Grants for The Fed Challenge should visit the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's official web site: hftp://www.ny.frb.org/pihome/educator/fedchal.html -- or call toll-free: 1-877-FED-CHLG. Based on the belief that knowledge is your greatest asset, the Citigroup Financial Education Program is a global, company-wide effort working jointly with the Citigroup Foundation to identify, support and implement initiatives that help give individuals, families and institutions the tools needed to make sound financial decisions. Citigroup's ten-year, $200 million global commitment is focused in three areas: Personal Financial Education, Small Business Financial Education, and Institutional Financial Education. Additional information about Citigroup's Financial Education Program, including Foundation guidelines, links and resources, and the Citigroup Financial Education Program Curriculum and Facilitator's Guide may be found at: financialeducation.citigroup.com. Citigroup (NYSE:C), the preeminent global financial services company has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage, and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Travelers Life and Annuity. Additional information may be found at http://www.citigroup.com/ DATASOURCE: The Student Loan Corporation CONTACT: Media - Anita Gupta of Citibank, +1-212-559-0297, ; or Linda Ricci of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, +1-212-720-6143, , both for The Student Loan Corporation Web site: http://www.studentloan.com/ http://www.citigroup.com/ hftp://www.ny.frb.org/pihome/educator/fedchal.html

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