TOPEKA, KS – High school students across the state submitted video contest entries to the Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner in hopes of winning prizes for themselves and their teachers. Students who are working toward or who have received EverFi Financial Literacy Certification through participation in the Kansas Financial Scholars Program created 30 seconds to 2 minute videos around this year’s theme of investing.

The contest is held in coordination with Financial Literacy Month in April each year. Videos are judged on message clarity and execution, creativity, overall impact, and number of modules completed in the Financial Scholars curriculum. New to the contest this year was the People’s Choice Award, where judges selected 6 videos to compete for the most Facebook likes on the Office of the Securities Commissioner’s Facebook page. The winners for this year’s contest are as follows:

1st place: Ell-Saline High School
Teacher: Ashley Hanson
Students: Lara Brockway, Sam Unruh, and Garrett Schuman
Video: “Cruise-in’ Into Investments” Link: http://youtu.be/rlpg9hakHzw

2nd place: De Soto High School
Teacher: Kristina Saladino
Students: Yosilin Flores, Karen Marquez, and Valerie Portillo
Video: “Invest!!!” Link: http://youtu.be/EWv4bPoBHpQ

3rd place: Marcolesco Christian Academy (Home School family from Wichita)
Teacher: Cathie Marcolesco
Students: Zach, Bethany and Luke Marcolesco
Video: “Zany Zach’s Investment Tips” Link: http://youtu.be/rU4HgCF6fzo

People’s Choice Award: Derby High School
Teacher: Jessica Fuller
Students: Luke Palmer, Chandler Benway, and Jeremy Rogers
Video: “Stay Classy EverFi” Link: http://youtu.be/a99lEevOlYQ

“Investing can be complicated, so our office was very impressed with the high school students’ ability to convey the value of investing in their videos,” said Securities Commissioner Josh Ney. “We are pleased to see schools like Ell-Saline, De Soto and Derby, as well as home school families like the Marcolescos, making financial literacy education a priority for our young people.”

“The EverFi Financial Scholars Program modules were very interactive. Financial literacy topics can be pretty dry, but EverFi makes it fun and engaging,” said Lara Brockway, Senior from Ell-Saline High School. “I would definitely recommend the program for other students.”

The first place winners will receive iPad minis for each of the 3 student winners and their teacher. Other prizes include Amazon.com gift cards and US Savings bonds.

The Kansas Financial Scholars Program is a web-based curriculum which uses the latest in new media technologies and is offered at no charge to all Kansas public and private schools, as well as home school students. The 6 hour, 10-unit course is aligned to the Kansas State Standards and offers co-curricular programming aimed at teaching, assessing and certifying students in a variety of financial topics including credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401k’s and other critical concepts that map to national financial literacy standards.

Teachers who have not yet signed up for the Kansas Financial Scholars Program may contact the Securities Commissioner’s office for information on how to sign up and participate in the program.

Questions about the Kansas Financial Scholars Program can be directed to Shannon Stone, Director of Investor Education at Shannon.Stone@ksc.ks.gov or by phone at 913.652.9164.

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The mission of the Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner (KSC) is to protect and inform Kansas investors; to promote integrity, fairness, and full disclosure in financial services; and to foster capital formation.