Fredonia students sweep top three in regional MoneySKILL Mania competition

By Matthew Biddle

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It was a clean sweep for Fredonia High School in this year’s MoneySKILL® Mania financial literacy competition, sponsored by the University at Buffalo School of Management and M&T Bank in high schools across Western New York.

Kevin Seybold bested nearly 1,000 students in the 11th annual competition, which tests students’ proficiency with basic money management concepts, including budgeting, income, credit and insurance. As the top-scoring student, Seybold won an Apple iPad.

Coming in second and third, respectively, were Travis Langworthy and Glen Bennett, who each received $250 for college savings. As the teacher for the top-three students, Laura DePue won a $100 gift certificate to the UB Center for the Arts.

This year, teachers from 22 public and private schools, as well as five career and technical centers, played MoneySKILL Mania in their classrooms, representing six Western New York counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee and Niagara. The highest scoring student from each participating school won a $50 Amazon gift card.

“All of the participating students are winners because they’ve learned some basic financial concepts that will benefit them throughout their lives,” says Mary Najuch, Fredonia branch manager at M&T Bank. “A special congratulations to the students from Fredonia High School — I’m thrilled to see our local school score so highly.”

The competition assesses skills that students learn through the MoneySKILL program, a free online personal finance curriculum designed by Lewis Mandell, professor emeritus of finance in the UB School of Management, for the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) Education Foundation.

Since its inception, more than 810,000 students across the nation have enrolled in MoneySKILL, which includes 36 learning modules in such areas as saving, investing, vehicle financing and renting versus owning property.

Locally, the UB School of Management and M&T Bank partner to provide outreach and teacher training, and host the MoneySKILL Mania competition. Since the partnership began in 2006, more than 22,000 Western New York students have improved their financial literacy through MoneySKILL.

“April marks National Financial Literacy Month, a perfect time to reflect on the importance of strong personal finance skills for all of us,” says Cynthia Shore, senior assistant dean and director of alumni engagement and external relations at the UB School of Management. “Thanks to this program and the support of M&T Bank, MoneySKILL students are better prepared to make financial decisions as they graduate and think about colleges, careers and the road ahead.”

Based in Washington, D.C., the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) Education Foundation (www.moneyskill.org) is focused on educating consumers of all ages on personal finance concepts and helping them realize the benefits of responsible money management, understand the credit process and seek help if credit problems occur. The foundation’s online personal finance course, MoneySKILL, is available at no cost and includes content in the areas of income, expenses, saving and investing, credit and insurance. The AFSA Education Foundation is affiliated with the American Financial Services Association (afsaonline.org), the national trade association for the consumer credit industry, protecting access to credit and consumer choice.

M&T Bank Corp. is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo. M&T’s principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, operates banking offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Trust-related services are provided by M&T’s Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank.