An undergraduate team from Pace University last week won the national College Fed Challenge for the second consecutive year at the annual competition in Washington, D.C. The event tests students”™ understanding of the U.S. economy, monetary policymaking and the role of the Federal Reserve System.
Five teams competed at the national level in the 12th annual challenge after winning Federal Reserve district competitions around the country. The Pace University team in November won New York”™s regional competition for the fourth year in a row, according to a university spokesman.
Pace”™s 2014 win in the national competition was the first for the New York Federal Reserve District in the history of the College Fed Challenge.
All seven members of this year”™s Pace team are economics and business economics students in the university”™s Dyson College of Arts and Sciences. They are Katherine Craig, Daniella Gambino, Omar Habib, Jozef Lampa, Melissa Navas, Jonathan Okane and Yuliya Palianok. Pace professors Greg Colman and Mark Weinstock served as the team”™s advisers.
Participating teams analyze economic and financial conditions and develop a monetary policy recommendation modeled on the work of the Federal Open Market Committee. Teams competing in the finals gave presentations and answered questions for a panel of senior Federal Reserve officials.
“This victory highlights Pace”™s unique commitment to experiential learning and professional experience, giving our students a competitive advantage both during their college years and as they enter into highly competitive professional fields,” said Pace University President Stephen J. Friedman in the school”™s announcement.
Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen said team preparations for the annual Fed Challenge expand students’ knowledge of the national economy, monetary policy, and the work of the Federal Reserve. The competition is also intended to spark interest in economics and finance as fields for advanced study and careers, she said.
