WASHINGTON, Penn. — When social distancing and wearing masks became the new norm, TruMark Financial Credit Union representatives had to rethink the credit union’s annual interactive Financial Jeopardy competition, which awards scholarships to graduating seniors. Students had been scheduled to test their knowledge on personal finance related topics in a game-like fashion with an opportunity to win a $5,000 scholarship.
With stay at home orders, the credit union switched the competition to an essay format with a Zoom interview component. Representatives from TruMark Financial’s senior management team and board of directors served as judges.
The winner of the $5,000 grand prize was Justice Passé, representing Abraham Lincoln High School. Passé plans to attend Albright College in the fall and study accounting and finance with a minor in entrepreneurship. “TruMark Financial’s generous scholarship opportunity alleviated the daunting thought of student loan debt. I can now focus more on my academics than the worries of trying to finance college and ultimately focus on helping my community. This scholarship created the foundation to a road of financial freedom,” said Passé.
Second place winner Tai Shanahan, representing Roman Catholic High School, won a $3,000 scholarship and will be headed to the University of Pittsburgh where he plans to study history and political science.
Emily Moyer, a senior at Archbishop Wood High School, finished third and won a $2,000 scholarship. She will be attending Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and plans to major in speech pathology and audiology.
In addition to the top three prizes, TruMark Financial awarded a $200 credit union savings account to each of the other seven contestants.
The Financial Jeopardy competition is a component of TruMark Financial’s Building Financial Futures initiative. TruMark Financial employees conduct financial literacy reality fairs at local high schools and also visit schools to conduct presentations on topics such as saving, budgeting, credit, and investing. The presentations provide third-party expertise to students and complement the schools’ existing personal finance curricula.