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Last Updated: 04/24/08

News Release

Eighth Grader Named 'Money Smart Kid'

CHICAGO — Eighth-grader Myles Gage from Ariel Community Academy in Chicago won an essay contest Monday to become the 2008 Money Smart Kid as part of Chicago's seventh-annual Money Smart Week.


Gage wrote the winning 300-word essay on reasons why it's important to attend college and various ways to pay for it. Additionally, five contestants were named runners-up:

  • Katherine Chung (First Runner Up), fifth grade, Wayne Builta Elementary, Bollingbrook, Ill.
  • Cara Champlin, eighth grade, Manhattan Junior High School, Manhattan, Ill.
  • Madeline Lindsey, eighth grade, Ted Lenart Regional Gifted Center, Chicago, Ill.
  • Rose Questel, fifth grade, James G. Blaine Elementary, Chicago, Ill.
  • Jackie Tanis, eighth grade, Manhattan Junior High School, Manhattan, Ill.

Coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and its Money Smart partners, Money Smart Week is designed to educate consumers about money management and generate awareness of financial education programs on a wide range of topics such as budgeting, saving and using credit wisely. The week consists of hundreds of free classes and seminars on money management topics, all held throughout the Chicago area.


The Money Smart Kid essay contest looks for kids who exhibit knowledge of how to use money wisely. Students grades 5-8 were encouraged to answer this year's essay question, and the six finalists were selected to attend the Money Smart Week kick-off breakfast on April 21 where the winner was announced. Gage won a $5000 scholarship from HSBC-North America and the opportunity to spend a year as Chicago's junior financial literacy ambassador. In addition, all the finalists received a laptop computer.


"This continues to be a great opportunity for young people to test their knowledge of money management and pave the way to more financial awareness in the future," Chicago Fed Vice President Public Affairs, Doug Tillett said.


For more information about Money Smart Week, log onto www.moneysmartweek.org and click on MSW Chicago.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Background

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., constitute the nation's central bank. The Chicago Fed serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the lower peninsula of Michigan, and the entire state of Iowa. In addition to providing check processing and other services for financial institutions, each Reserve Bank serves as a bank for the U.S. government, supervises member banks and bank holding companies, monitors economic conditions in its district, and participates in the formulation of national monetary policy.

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